Between My Brother and Me: Ab Initio
by Green Phantom Queen
Summary: Part of the "Between My Brother and Me" series: While May and Max are off to stop the forces of the Orichalcos, Ash Ketchum is drawn into another world where he has accidentally let loose the dark being known as Reshef. Armed with a Duel Disk and allied with versions of friends and a tribe of ancient warriors, it's up to the Chosen One to save the world from total destruction.
1. Prologue: Slow Start

_Welcome readers to another tale in the "Between my Brother and Me" series. Before we get started, there are some things to address about this story:_

 _First off, this story will take place after the end of the Pokémon Battle Frontier and will be an adaptation of the video game "Reshef of Destruction". Except for a few exceptions, human characters will be given their Japanese names (Example: May and Max will be called "Haruka" and "Masato" respectively), but Duel Monsters will be known by their Western names to avoid confusion._

 _Second, while this tale takes place in the same time frame as "De Novo", this story can be read as its own separate piece. There will be no references to De Novo in this story, and vice versa (and if they are, they will be minimal so it doesn't stop the flow of the story itself)._

 _Third, just like in "De Novo", cards that are showcased here will be spread-out throughout the entire franchise and will be noted at the end of each chapter if need be. Moreover, made-up cards will be marked in bold and information about the cards will be shown at the bottom of the chapter (don't worry; reading through them is completely optional). Duels will start at 8000 life points unless stated otherwise._

 _Fourth, Human Pokémon characters will appear, but except for a certain electric mouse, the monsters themselves will not be showing up in this story. Don't worry, references to the monsters will be made here and there, but this adaptation will focus more on the humans themselves._

 _Fifth, I'd like to give a shout-out to these fanfiction writers: Murasaki Rose (For the inspiration based on her fanfics "Retrieving Destiny", "Evading Destiny" and "Embrace the Night"), 0ccam's Razor (who I have been a huge fan of for his Yu-Gi-Oh! stories) and Masterdramon (Who, without "My Dark King", I wouldn't be back to writing again. Thank you for bringing me back to life when it comes to writing._

 _And last but not least, I do not own any of the characters except for ones I made up. All rights to the characters from Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh belong to their respective creators and nothing more. The only thing I have control over is the flow of the story._

 _Without further ado, let us begin again._

 **Between My Brother and Me: Ab Initio**

Author: Green Phantom Queen

Rated: T

Summary: While May and Max are off on an adventure in Domino City, Ash himself is also thrown into Domino City...except it's the Domino City of a different world, where he has accidentally unleashed the power of Reshef, and must team up with a tribe of ancient warriors in order to seal it away once more by obtaining his title of "Knight of Destiny" and learn to harness the power of Duel Monsters if he's ready to fight the Dark Being.

 **Prologue: Slow Start**

 _"Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start."_

 _-Nido Quebein_

Ash Ketchum has no idea of the adventures that were to come the night before he decided to head off to the Sinnoh Region.

He certainly has no clue about what would happen during his match with Gary's Electvire, or when he recalls all of his adventures with May, Max and Brock. All that he could think about is what Gary said about visiting the Sinnoh Region and encountering new Pokémon, and new people, along the way.

Downstairs in the living room of their house, his mother is hard at work with her sewing, his mother's Mr. Mime is sweeping the floors to make it shine, and Ash himself is lying in bed, looking up at the ceiling of the bedroom he rarely used these days, thinking about what he will do next.

Pikachu is with him, of course, already asleep. Ash turns to his side and scratch one of Pikachu's ears, watching electricity crackle in its cheeks before rolling onto his back once more. A sigh escaped his lips as he looks at the item in his hand: one half of the Terracotta Ribbon that he split with May after their climatic battle at the end of the Terracotta Festival ended in a draw. It is a sign of their friendship and the promise that they would see each other again.

Pinning the ribbon to his jacket, Ash then thinks of Max, who wants to grow up so fast and go out on his own to become a Trainer and have his own adventures, particularly when it came to his promise to reunite with Ralts.

And Brock? He knows that Brock also has his own dreams of being a Pokémon Breeder, but also hopes that Brock would tone it down when it came to meeting girls.

The seconds slowly pass by as Ash begins to fall asleep...or he would've if a bright light didn't wake him up.

"Huh…?" he mumbles, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "What's going on?"

Pikachu also wakes up just as Ash sees a strange vortex of blue and purple energy materialize on the floor. There is a loud groan as a large wind begins to suck the two in. Pikachu tries to grab onto Ash but missed, and is soon sent hurtling toward parts unknown.

"PIKACHU!" Ash shouts, grabbing onto Pikachu's paw just as he grabs the back of a nearby chair.. "Hold on, I'll save you!"

But it isn't enough; the pull of the vortex causes Ash's grip on the chair to slacken. In seconds, the two find themselves sucked into eye of the vortex, unable to cry for help before it suddenly seals itself shut like one blinks their eyes.

Then, there is nothing but silence.

 **0-0-0-0-0**

 _All around her was destruction._

 _The sky was the color of blood, fire rained down from the heavens, monsters roamed the streets in search of prey. The smell of death and decay was overwhelming, and corpses littered the street._

 _She kept running all the same, carrying the bundle in her arms. She had to get it to safety, no matter what the cost. The Pharaoh was counting on her, her of all people, to do this._

 _Just as she was nearing the temple, she stopped. She felt a dark presence, causing her to be paralyzed. Slowly she turned around, watching as a large shadow descend on her, its mouth open wide enough to swallow her whole…_

"NO!"

Haruka sits up, hand on her rapidly beating heart as she tries to shake off the remnants of that nightmare. She looks all around her...she is in her bedroom, a blue sheet draping her chest, her fanny pack on her chair and her Duel Disk sits on her vanity desk that is decorated with a multitude of wheels and silver spirals.

She is home; she is not being devoured by some strange monster.

Shaking her head clear, Haruka reaches for the flashlight she placed underneath her pillow and turns it on. Walking toward the bedroom door, there is a slight creak as she steps out. Everyone else is asleep. Good. This makes things much easier.

Walking down the hall, Haruka enters the kitchen and opens the pantry door. Whenever she has a nightmare and needs to fall back to bed, she gets herself some cookies and a glass of warm milk. Tonight is no exception, and she is thrilled to find the sheep-shaped cookie jar still filled with her mother's delicious chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. She pulls one out and takes a bite, savoring its sweetness.

"Nee-san, are you eating cookies again?"

Haruka drops the cookie jar in alarm and saves it from becoming shards of porcelain and dirty cookies on the floor by placing her hand out and watching the cookie jar hit a red magic circle designed with five petal flowers a few centimeters above the floor w

before the magic circle rises do Haruka can take the jar back into her hands. She sighs before placing the it to its proper spot on the pantry shelf.

"Mom would kill me if she found out I was snacking again," she mutters. "My skills are improving though."

"So you _are_ eating cookies again." The voice repeats.

Haruka turns, quickly shining her flashlight on the person who spoke, a boy with short dark green hair and brown eyes, wearing a green shirt and brown shorts for pajamas. The young boy just tilts his head as his lips turn into a sly smirk.

"Masato!" Haruka hisses. "What are you doing here?"

"You were dreaming, weren't you?" Masato asks calmly, not even taking notice at how his sister is wiping away cookie crumbs off her face. "You know that midnight snacking isn't good for you."

"That's...that's not of your business!" Haruka walks toward the refrigerator and opens it. As she searches for the bottle of milk, she adds, "And what about you? Were _you_ dreaming too?"

"I was."

Haruka pauses as she looks at her brother. For as long as they have grown up together, she knows that Masato is a bit of a heavy sleeper. So to find him waking up from a nightmare is just as rare as Haruka not going for some cookies when she wakes up from nightmares (these particular set of nightmares have been appearing for the past week or so, give or take).

After another second of silence, Haruka picks up a bottle of honey in the shape of a bear before closing the refrigerator door.

"What were you dreaming about?" she asks, going to the cupboard to find some mugs.

"I think it was about some person," Masato explains. "He dressed up just like Serena does…"

"Who would want to dress up like Serena?" Haruka places two mugs (one blue, one green) onto the table.

"Well they did, and they had a creature called a Pikachu with them." Masato sits down at the table and watches his sister pour milk into the mugs, and then took both mugs to heat in the microwave. "They touched some strange stone tablet, and then.."

"And then?" Haruka sets the microwave to low and watches it hum, the revolving tray inside going round and round.

"Well, there was a 'roar' and a BOOM! And then there was…" Masato frowns. "I don't know how to describe it, but something appeared and the boy had this strange aura around him. There's also the fact that he's standing in front of a large crowd with something glowing in his hands before a burst of light and an earthquake forms..."

There is a *DING!* before Haruka opens the microwave and watches the steam waft from the cups of hot milk. Taking both mugs onto a tray, she walks toward the table and sets them down, where Masato quickly begins to squeeze honey into his own mug before racing to a drawer to pick up a spoon for himself. Haruka, still with cookie in her hand, dunks it into the milk and takes a bite, savoring the warmth of the milk and sweetness of chocolate.

"Didn't Mokuba say he was having those dreams too?" says Haruka. Masato, spoon in hand, began to stir his milk round and round, careful not to make too much noise. He nods his head.

"Serena also said she was getting dreams. Maybe we can talk about it tomorrow when we see them. You know what tomorrow is, right?"

Haruka smiles. "Of course! Tomorrow is the Duel Monsters Spirit Festival at Kaiba Land!" She then finishes the last of her cookie before adding, "So let's forget about these nightmares and get some sleep. What do you say?"

Masato blows on his milk and takes a big sip, before letting out a sigh. "I'm in. Now let me have one of those cookies…"

"Oh no you don't!" Haruka giggles, grasping onto her little brother's arm. "Those are my midnight snacks; go get your own!"

 **0-0-0-0-0**

"Seto?"

The voice causes the brunette teenager to stir as he noticed someone approach him. The young boy is wiping away the tears in his eyes as he recovers from a horrible nightmare.

"What is Mokuba?" asks Seto, concern for his younger brother shown in his blue eyes.

"I had that dream again," Mokuba sobs. He shouldn't have been crying-he turned 13 just a few days ago. He is a big boy now, and boys his age don't cry over nightmares. "The one about the dark god and the world being destroyed and…"

Seto immediately wraps his arms around his younger brother and held him tight. It wouldn't have been the first time that Mokuba would enter his bedroom to complain about nightmares, but it would've been the first since that his younger brother would come to his bedroom in tears in a long time.

Another figure stirs awake, this one having blond hair and amber eyes. Mokuba sniffles and steps back, noticing that both his brother and his brother's boyfriend had no shirt on, being covered by a white bedsheet.

"I...I didn't come at a bad time, did I, Jounochi nii-san?" Mokuba asks shyly. He isn't too surprised that his brother had found himself a boyfriend in Jounochi (he sort of realized that Seto and Jounochi had feelings for another early on, not helping that one time he and Serena found the two making out in the locker rooms and Serena able of taking a snapshot of the guy's love in front of them), but it still feels sort of awkward to accidentally enter his brother's bedroom when the two were going through a "romantic moment". If Haruka or Serena see one of those "romantic moments", they won't stop talking about it for days!

"Nah, I'm fine," Katsuya Jounochi replies, patting Mokuba on the head. "Don't worry, those are nothing more than dreams. And dreams can't hurt ya."

"Easy for you to say," Mokuba mutters, crawling into bed, being careful not to disturb the bed sheets. "I mean, you're not the one who's suffering through these for the past week or so, right?"

"But these are just figments of your imagination, and they can't hurt you." Jounochi ruffles Mokuba's obsidian locks with a hand, causing the younger boy to smile. "Considering all that you went through, I'm sure you'll be able to confront your nightmares and tell them who's boss, right?

"Yeah…" Mokuba looks down at the card locket that drapes his heart and opens it, revealing the picture of his older brother when they were younger, a chess piece in hand. He laid back and looks up at the ceiling, closing the locket as he adds

"Tomorrow…tomorrow is a big day for me...for all of us.."

And with Seto draping the bed sheet over the three of them, Mokuba soon fell off into a dreamless slumber.

 **0-0-0-0-0**

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Serena can sense that something is wrong. While she isn't able to read Tarot cards like Haruka is, she can easily tell that things aren't right.

Even though she should be at bed right now, she's still shuffling her deck. This ritual helps calm her mind and helps her forget the stress and excitement that is flowing through her veins. Tomorrow is an important day for her, and she can't sleep if her mind is a panicky mess, right?

After four rounds of shuffling, she sets the deck down and flips it over. The monster that stares back at her is a witch. She smiles at it-for her it's a sign that things will be all right.

With the ritual over, Serena walks over to her bed, tucks herself underneath the sheets and closes her eyes. As she sleeps, she dreams that she's in a haunted mansion, partying with a myriad of spirits who are dancing to "Monster Mash" playing on a phonograph.

 **0-0-0-0-0**

The first thing Ash feels is someone placing a wet towel on his forehead. He slowly sits up, feeling like someone hit him over and over again with Hammer Arm as he finds himself sitting on a couch draped with a blanket.

"Where am I?" he asks, hand on his forehead. "What happened?"

"Oh, I see you're awake now."

Ash turns, seeing an old man in green overalls and wearing an orange bandana around his grey hair, approach him. In his hands is a tray with two mugs filled with tea. Ash looks around, at the television, the sets of sofas, the posters of strange warriors and dragons on the wall, as realization hits him.

"Where's Pikachu?" he asks, frantically looking around. "Pikachu, where are you?!"

"Pika!" cries a familiar voice, and Ash turns to his left, where Pikachu leaps from a chair and onto Ash's shoulder. Ash sighs in relief.

"There you are," he said, petting Pikachu's head. "Are you alright?"

"Pika." Pikachu replies. There is some silence as the old man placed the tray down on the table.

"You caused quite a stir when you arrived in front of the Game Shop, young man," he says. Ash blinks as the old man sits down. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sugoroku Mutou, and I am the owner of the Kame Game Shop."

"I'm Ash, and this is Pikachu," says Ash. "But I've never seen you before. Are you new to Pallet Town?"

Sugoroku blinks. "Pallet Town? No, my dear boy. I'm afraid you're mistaken."

Ash feels that something is absolutely wrong, but tries to calm his nerves as he asks, "W...what do you mean by that?"

"What I mean," Sugoroku clears his throat. "Is that you are not in this place you call 'Pallet Town', but rather you are in my hometown of Domino City."

And it is in that span of few seconds that Ash feels like his world is falling apart.

 **0-0-0-0-0**

 **Ash: This can't be real. How did I end up in Domino City?**

 **Haruka: Don't ask me, but it seems you've got some explaining to do.**

 **Masato: Like why you appeared in a dream of mine and all.**

 **Ash: How can I explain something like that, when I don't even know what sent me here?**

 **Mokuba: Then it looks like we're in for a bit of an introduction, aren't we?**

 **Serena: Next time, Ab Initio Chapter 1: "Bad Dreams"**

 **Ash: Pikachu, all I can say is that I know that we're no longer in Pallet Town anymore.**


	2. Bad Dreams

_**I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. My goal is to be a Pokémon Master, to learn all about Pokémon and see the world while I'm at it.**_

 _ **But this...this isn't what I'm expecting.**_

 _ **Somehow, I've ended up in a strange city called Domino, and they've never even**_ _ **heard**_ _**of Pokémon at all. Instead, the city is famous for something called "Duel Monsters"-a type of game that's played with cards that you place on strange devices that you wear on your wrist, and the people who play them are simply known as "Duelists".**_

 _ **And not only that, there's a giant festival being held today and everyone who's going has the chance to dress up as their favorite Duel Monster while also dueling others for the sake of the game itself. I, for one, am into parties and celebrations when I have the chance…**_

 _ **But right now, all I want to do is figure out a way home...**_

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **1st Draw**

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **Bad Dreams**

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

" _I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams."_

 _-Jonas Salk_

"Serena! Serena, wake up!"

Saki lets out a long sigh as she stops knocking on her daughter's door. She has been trying to get her daughter to wake up for the past ten minutes, and all that she's heard is Serena refusing to do so. Of all days that Serena decides to sleep in, it is this one.

With no other alternative, she pulls out her cellphone, searches the contact list for her daughter's number, presses it, and then places the phone to her ear. After hearing the dial tone twice, she hears her daughter's sleepy voice on the other end.

"Hello?" Serena murmurs, slightly drowzy.

"GET UP RIGHT NOW!" Saki shouts, loud enough that she hears her daughter jump out of bed in alarm. "Do you know what time it is?"

On the other side, Serena untangles herself from her blankets before she looks at her alarm clock, depicting a white and black dragon encircling one another. She stares at the time: 8:15.

"Yeah, I do," Serena replies to her cellphone. "It's a quarter past 8."

"And do you know what time you promised to meet your friends at Clock Tower Square?" Saki continues.

"8:30." Serena answers. She lets out a large yawn before she takes a look at a witch's hat (part of her costume for the day) resting on top of her mirror. "We're going to go see Millefui at her food truck and have breakfast there before the line gets too long-"

"Which it has, since it opens in half an hour," Saki interrupts. "But, there's two reasons why you need to wake up now."

"And why's that, mom?"

"The first is that, not only are Haruka, Masato and Mokuba in the living room already in their costumes, and Rebecca and her brothers will be at Kaiba Land after they prepare their costumes and have breakfast -"

"Can you cut to the chase?"

"Millefui stated that she has something special for you if you get there in time. She didn't tell me what it was, but instead sent you a picture of it on your phone."

"What kind of crazy thing is she going to give-" Serena stops when she sees the image of said "something special" on her phone-a Duel Monster card that she has been searching for quite some time. Her eyes grow to the size of sand dollars as she places the phone to her ear and whispers, "S...She's going to give me _this_? You're not kidding, right?"

"Would I ever kid on something like that?" Saki says with a smile. "As they say, 'A picture is worth a thousand words.' If you want to know for yourself, you have to go see her before she decides to hand it to someone else."

"...Tell her that I'm going to get there before she flips the sign and the first pancake is served!" says Serena, standing up and turning to her deck. "That card is mine!"

Saki just smiles as she hangs up and hears her daughter running around her room to get in her costume. She hears the sounds of the television in the living room-Serena's friends are currently watching something known as _The Final Deletion_ and talking about their plans at the Spirit Festival after the opening duel finished.

But still, there is something bugging Saki. Sure, she's happy that her daughter is going to be attending the festival with her friends, and that Serena is now enrolled in the prestigious Domino City Duel Academy and she will be attending classes the day after, but she just can't shake the feeling that something will go wrong today.

She wishes she can asks Haruka to look into the future through the girl's Tarot cards, but she won't. Instead, Saki just lets out a sigh before leaving the hallway just as she hears Serena turn the radio on and it blares out a song on the radio.

" _I feel numb...I feel numb in this kingdom…"_

 **0-0-0-0-0-0**

As Serena is quickly getting prepared into her costume, someone else is also getting set into a costume of their own.

Ash Ketchum is quiet as Sugoroku Muto helps him into a costume of a warrior dressed in red armor with golden accents. Pikachu is already dressed as an adorable jester with a red musketeer hat topped with a bright, fluffy pink feather and munching on some cookies as the old man begins to explain about Domino City. Ash is half-paying attention to all of this information as he tries to figure out how he landed in this city, where there is no such things as Pokémon but instead a card game that is known as "Duel Monsters", and how his mother is doing and whether or not she is aware that her son is missing.

"There, we're almost done," says Sugoroku, stepping back. Staring in front of a mirror, Ash can see the finer details of his outfit-including the sword and large shield with a purple orb in the center. Sugoroku smiles as he pats Ash on the shoulder. "Now we need one more thing."

"And what's that?" asks Ash. Even though he's been in costume before, he at least knew where he was-but this is a completely different city. No, maybe he's in a completely different _world_.

"What's the point of dressing as a Duel Monster if you don't have a deck and Duel Disk for when someone challenges you to a duel?" asks Sugoroku, approaching a table that held two things: a Duel Disk and a deck of cards. "If you use this, promise me two things: 1) don't duel until you actually have seen someone duel and 2) believe in the Heart of the Cards."

"The Heart of the what?" Ash repeats.

"Grandpa always talks about that, about how if a duelist is in tune with the cards in his deck, then they'll draw the card that will help change things around."

Ash, seeing someone behind him via the mirror, turns around. The person in front of him is dressed in a costume-a purple sorcerer's garb with a matching curved helmet, while wielding a long green scepter in hand. The boy is somewhat shorter than Ash is, with blond bangs framing his face, and a pair of wide amethyst eyes that make him a few years younger than the Pokémon trainer. In fact, if it wasn't for how he sounded, Ash would've immediately believed that the boy _was_.

The most prominent thing that the boy is wearing is strange pendant on a thick chain that looks like an inverted pyramid, its eye in the center almost staring into Ash's soul. For some odd reason, Ash can sense something within that thing…

Something powerful.

"Who are you?" asks Ash, as the purple-clothed boy approaches Pikachu. Pikachu tenses, but after the boy scratches his chin, Pikachu just sighs and relaxes.

"So, Yugi," says Sugoroku. "You ready for the big day?"

The boy, Yugi, just nods his head. "Yep. I better get going before the gates open." He turns to Ash. "And you're Ash, right?" Ash just nods his head. "Well, I hope that, for as long as you stay here, you'll become a great duelist. Say, why don't you join me and I can give you a tour of Domino City?"

"Sure, I guess." Ash clumsily adjusts the Duel Disk until it fits snugly on his left arm. "What do you say, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" chirps Pikachu as he leaps from the cushion he sat at and onto Ash's left shoulder. Yugi smiles as he leads Ash out of the Game Shop, along with saying a goodbye to his grandfather, while Sugoroku looked on. When the door closed, he let out a sigh.

"This boy is going to unleash something big," he says to no one in particular. "Don't you think so, Atem?"

"I absolutely agree."

A figure emerges from the shadows, looking like an older Yugi, barring the tanned skin, the spiky hair with three additional lightning bolt-like bangs, his garb that makes him look similar to a Pharaoh from Ancient Egypt, and the fierce crimson eyes instead of innocent amethyst ones. Atem, as the figure is named, turns to Sugoroku.

"Should I shadow them?" he asks the older man.

Sugoroku shakes his head and smiles.

"Let's see where this goes first," he answers. "Then, we'll take it from there. After all, it _is_ Ash Ketchum's first day here."

 **0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Finally, you're done!" says Haruka, seeing Serena plop herself onto the couch in her costume. "We were just about to watch that scene in _Delete or Decay_ where BROKEN Matt tells his brother to train with a kangaroo!"

On the television, that is exactly what is playing-BROKEN Matt Hardy is having his brother fight a kangaroo (who he claims has the soul of the famous boxer Smokin' Joe Fraiser), and the kangaroo is apparently winning.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that," says Serena, adjusting the peaked hat that tops her head. "Oooh, this is exciting...we have to get to Thousand Pieces Café right now!"

"And then we need to get to Kaiba Land for the opening ceremonies." Mokuba adds. "I assure you, you _definitely_ can't miss this duel."

"What are you implying?" asks Serena, placing her hand on her cheek, and an elbow on the skirt of her black dress.

"My brother and his 'boyfriend', are dueling to see whoever gets to pull the Bound Scepter of Destiny out of its pedestal," Mokuba explains. "And…" He smirks, seeing Serena and Haruka eating up everything he's saying. "Well, _maybe_ there might be a kiss and.."

"What are we waiting for?!" says Masato, standing up. He turns to Saki who is having a cup of coffee at the dinner table. "We have to go now. See you later!"

Saki smiles as she sees her daughter and friends hop off the couch, gather their Duel Disks, cards and more, before talking to themselves about the fun they were going to have. As she does, she picks up the remote control and turns off the TV, relishing in the silence before she looks at a picture on the refrigerator, depicting a younger Serena grinning while holding a Kuriboh plushie. Has it really been three years since the two moved to Domino City? Her daughter has now become more confident, outgoing and bold, completely different to the shy, quiet one who would be bullied for her cards.

But still...

"Why do I still feel like something bad is going to happen?" she whispers to no one but herself.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0**

Kaiba Land is one of the shining monuments of Domino City, dedicated to the sports of Duel Monsters. If you had to ask Mokuba as to why this amusement park was made in the first place, he would go and tell the story of how his brother would dream of making them to bring smiles to children, especially orphans. "The orphans can go for free," is something Seto Kaiba once said.

Of course, Ash Ketchum has no idea about this backstory. He doesn't even know the name of the Duel Monster he's cosplaying as (Breaker the Magical Warrior). All he knows is that there are various people at the amusement park, some wearing a costume, some carrying Duel Disks, and some of them already engaged in duels, all while he feels like a pineapple in a tomato patch due to having Pikachu on his shoulder. Many children have rushed toward him, curious as to what Pikachu is (he has had to tell them repeatedly that Pikachu isn't a "real-life Duel Monster") and has successfully avoided all of Pikachu's attempts to shock anyone who pulled on his face or yank his tail, for the most part.

"So," says Yugi, noticing how Ash is looking at the distance. "Do you have any questions?"

"Um, yeah…" Ash answers, pointing to a statue in the distance. The statue depicts a young boy firmly wielding a scepter in his hands, their face a mixture of inevitable doom and determination. In front of it is a make-shift stage and various people standing in front of it, as if anticipating something. "What's that?"

"Oh that?" says Yugi. "That statue holds something known as the Bound Scepter of Destiny. It's been a part of Kaiba Land ever since it was constructed-duelists try to test their skills in front of it, and the winner is allowed to pull the scepter out of its pedestal. The scepter is supposed to be pulled by someone worthy of its power."

"Have you tried pulling it before?"

"I have," Yugi answers. "Unfortunately, even if I'm known as 'The King of Games', the scepter refuses to budge whenever I tried to pull it out. It's like Excalibur in some cases."

"Excalibur?" Ash tilts his head.

"Excalibur is the legendary sword that was given to King Arthur. Some say that Arthur pulled it out of a sword or anvil to prove that he would be the rightful ruler of Great Britain."

Yugi and Ash turn around to see a young girl beind them, dressed in a silver long-sleeved blouse along with matching pants, knee-high boots and fingerless gloves, with one of these gloved hands running through her long blond hair. In her left hand is a sword with a glowing blade and strapped to her right arm is a silver and gold colored Duel Disk with black engravings and the body of the Disk resembling a gear. Covering her large cyan eyes are a pair of glasses with red half-moon frames.

"Rebecca!" Yugi exclaims, seeing the girl. "I suppose you went ahead of your brothers?"

"I wouldn't call them brothers, darling," Rebecca giggles. "But yeah, I couldn't wait! Have you seen Serena and the others? What about Kaiba and Jounochi? Are they 'preparing' for their duel? And if they are, are they-"

She is quickly interrupted by someone tapping her on the head with a broom. Rebecca turns to find Serena smiling at her, dressed as a witch with long blond hair, and her witch's outfit decorated with magenta ribbons. In her hand is a broom, decorated with a loop of string with starry beads around the bristles. She has a Duel Disk too, colored black and orange, strapped to her left arm.

"Come on, we'll get to see some 'real action' when the duel starts," Serena smirks, looking at Rebecca's outfit. "D. D Warrior Lady, huh?"

"Yep! And you're Ghostrick Witch, huh?" says Rebecca, lightly poking Serena's chest with her sword. "Where are the others?"

"They're coming, they're coming," says Serena, with a wave of her hand. She turns around, a hand above her eyes. "And here they are now."

Ash watches as he sees Serena's friends, all dressed up as various Duel Monsters and all of them having Duel Disks on them. Mokuba is Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss (who is adjusting his beret so it doesn't get detached from his wig), Masato is dressed as Warlock of the Ice Barrier (who is adjusting one of the long cyan bangs of his wig so it doesn't land in front of his face), and Haruka is Crystal Seer, briefly pulling back the turban covering her head. It is there Ash can get a better look at the girl, tears forming in his eyes as he cries out,

"May!" He rushes toward Haruka and wraps his arms around her. "I finally find a familiar face here!"

"Huh-" Haruka has no time to react as she's tackled by the boy dressed as Breaker the Magical Warrior. Ash, in the meanwhile, is just laughing out of relief.

"Hey!" says Serena, pulling Ash to the side. "I don't know who you are, but you can't just go out and tackle my friend like that. And for the record, her name is 'Haruka', not 'May'."

Ash steps back as he looks at Haruka, remembering the girl from Petalburgh City that is now preparing to travel to the Johto Region, before also remembering that this is probably not the May he knows. And the boy with blue hair and glasses...Ash wants to say 'Max', but now realizes that it's not going to be the same person he knows. Trying his hardest not to cry, he just smiles.

"S...sorry about that," he says. "It's just...you look like somebody that I used to know, and all."

"I get that," says Haruka, turning to the side. "And, now that you know my name, I can introduce you to my little brother Masato…" Masato waves a hello. "And the one dressed in red is Mokuba."

"Hey," says Mokuba, shaking Ash's hand. "Welcome to Domino City, and you made it just in time. We're about to start the opening ceremonies."

"Yeah, we were about to go to the stage before all the good seats got taken," says Yugi. "So, Haruka, what do you predict for the duel?"

"Aside from the usual thing of them talking smack against one another, summoning their stars, and someone attempting to pull the scepter out…" Haruka explains. "Well, maybe I can see the two 'making up' at the end."

Serena and Rebecca giggle, Mokuba and Masato roll their eyes, Yugi just smiles, and Ash and Pikachu are confused.

"Pika?" says the Pokémon.

"WOW!" says Masato, seeing Pikachu dressed up as Peten the Dark Clown. "What is that thing?"

"This is Pikachu, a Pokémon and my very best friend," Ash answers, recalling how Max accidentally got himself electrocuted when they first met. He brushes the thought aside as he asks, "I don't suppose Pokémon exist here, huh?"

"Never heard of them," says Rebecca, placing a hand on her chin as she tilts her head to the right. "So..wait, are you from another world?"

"I guess so…" The thought of being in another world really didn't settle with Ash; at least when he travels to other regions, his mother knows where he's at and can trust him in that he'll be safe. But here? He doesn't even know if his mother is fully aware of where he's at!

"That's so cool!" says Rebecca. "What am I like there? Do I have any siblings? Am I an expert duelist? Do I like weapons?"

"Um, I have no idea...times four," Ash answers awkwardly. "I've never seen you before in my world."

"Darn," Rebecca pouts. "Oh well, I'll learn that another time. Come on, the duel is about to start!"

"Let's go, let's go!" says Serena, latching onto Ash's arm. "We're about to see history today!"

"Last one there pays for lunch!" Haruka adds, chasing after her friends. Yugi just watches them go before he looks down at the strange pyramid on a chain he wears over his costume. He carefully traces the eye in the center, almost as if it's like a good luck charm to help ward away bad spirits.

 _Please let nothing bad happen..._ He thinks. _Especially not here of all places…_

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"It's about to start, it's about to start!" Serena squeals as she squeezes into the front of the crowd, eyes wide as she sees a woman dressed as Penumbral Soldier Lady about to address the crowd. The woman smiles to everyone as the background music begins to fade.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" says the woman. "Welcome to this year's Duel Monster Spirit Festival, sponsored by the one and only Kaiba Corp.! For those who know me, and for those who don't, I am Cynthia, head of Domino City's Duel Academy, and I will be your host for what I hope will be best Spirit Festival we've had in quite some time!"

There is some cheers from the crowd as Ash looks in confusion.

"This place has a school for dueling?" He whispers to his friends..

"Yep!" Masato says with a grin. "The five of us are gonna start taking classes the day after tomorrow. It's said that the school was built to help inspire a new generation of duelists and only those who pass the entrance exams have a chance of entering! Why? Are there any in your world?"

"Not that I know of. I do know that there are schools where students learn about Pokémon, though."

"Well then, just kick back and watch the magic of Duel Monsters appear before your very eyes," says Haruka. "You'll be a believer in the game soon enough."

"And now," Cynthia continues. "Let me introduce our competitors for today's opening duel. To my left, we have one of Domino City's stories of how anyone can become a duelist through hard work, determination and sheer luck. Calling himself the 'Godfather of Duel Monsters', and wielder of the legendary Red Eyes Black Dragon, I give you the one and only…" She inhales deeply before announcing, "Katsuya Jounochi!"

There is a round of cheers as the first competitor appears. From Ash can see, the person is tall, lanky with a head of a blond hair and a set of mischievous honey-brown eyes. He is dressed in a set of black dragon-like armor with a Duel Disk looking similar to the head of a black dragon with fierce red eyes on his arm. From the loud squeals coming from Serena, Haruka and Rebecca next to him, he has plenty of fangirls. Jounochi grins and waves to the adoring crowd.

"Welcome….Duelists of Domino City!" He shouts into the microphone. "Man, it's good to be back!"

"Indeed it is," Cynthia smiles. "And his opponent who needs no introduction...to many people around the world, this man is known for being a lot of things. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist...okay, maybe not that third one." This gets a few chuckles from the crowd, particularly from the girls. "So I'll cut to the chase and introduce the creator of the Duel Disk, founder of the Kaiba Land amusement park, and CEO of Kaiba Corp. Presenting…" With a dramatic flourish and a hand to the side, Cynthia turns to her right as she announces the name, "Seto Kaiba!"

The audience cheers even louder (if that's even possible), as Jounochi's opponent arrives on stage. Unlike the black draconic armor Jounochi is decked out in, Kaiba's outfit is simply a silver duster alongside long black gloves, and a dragon-like helm with a head of long red hair that trails to his waist. On his right arm is a Duel Disk modeled to look like the head of a dragon, except this one is based on a white dragon with blue eyes. Out of the people cheering for him, Mokuba is the loudest.

"Go get him, bro!" he shouts, jumping up and down and waving his arms in the air. Kaiba momentarily looks to the audience and flashes a grin, all while Ash steps back in surprise.

"Wait...that guy's your _brother_?!" he exclaims, looking between both Seto and Mokuba. "H...how…"

"All right, you two," says Cynthia, as both duelists meet at the center. "Let's have a fair and friendly duel today; no tricks, all right?"

"Trust us, Miss Cynthia," says Jounochi. "Since when did Seto and I do something...inappropriate?"

Seto just snorts as he and Jounochi exchange decks to shuffle it. As they do, Ash blinks...he feels like he's seeing double. Instead of them wielding Duel Disks and cards, the two of them are wielding weapons; Kaiba is wielding a staff, and Jounochi is holding an axe with a dark blade. In Cynthia's place is a woman in a tan dress and light blue hair, and the two of them take fighting stances. Jounochi is about to make the first move…

"Ash! Hey, Ash!"

Ash blinks as Masato shakes him slightly. "Whatcha thinking about?"

"I'm just seeing the two prepare to fight…" Ash answers, technically telling the truth. Masato just grins.

"It's gonna get even better now," he says. "The real show is about to begin."

"Are we ready then?" asks Cynthia, as both duelists walk to opposite ends of the stage, their Duel Disks activating.

"I'm ready as I'll ever be!" says Jounochi with a wide grin on his face. "What say you?"

"Let's make this showy, shall we?" says Seto, drawing five cards from his deck.

"Then let the duel...BEGIN!" Cynthia announces as the crowd cheers once more.

 **(Seto Kaiba: 8000) - - - - - - - (Katsuya Jounochi: 8000)**

"Here's how a duel starts," says Masato to Ash. "Each duelists starts off with five cards and 8000 lifepoints. They draw a card at the beginning of their turn-or not, depending on previous card effects-and then can play cards on their Duel Disks. You win when your opponent has no more lifepoints, no more cards to draw from their decks, or they surrender. But don't worry, you'll get the hang of it soon enough."

"It's my move," says Jounochi, drawing a card. "And I think I'll start off with Alligator's Sword in Defense Mode."

He plays a card, depicting a bipedal alligator in black armor wielding a sword. (1200 DEF)

"Wow…" Ash whispers. "That's a Duel Monster?"

"It's a Normal-type one, though," Masato explains. "Yellow cards have no effects, orange ones have effects, and…" Haruka nudges him in the stomach and places a finger to her lips. "Well, you'll see more soon enough."

"And I'm ending it with one card facedown," Jounochi adds, slipping a card into the his Duel Disk while a holographic version of that materializes behind Alligator's Sword. "And that ends my turn."

"My turn," says Seto, drawing his card. "And it looks like your Alligator's Sword is going to be turned into a nice purse soon. I summon Enraged Battle Ox in Attack Mode!"

With a roar, a bipedal ox dressed in red and gold battle armor materializes, wielding a battle axe. (1700 ATK)

"Ooh, this won't end well…" Serena notes.

"What do you mean?" asks Ash.

"Notice that Alligator's Sword in Defense Mode while Enraged Battle Ox is in Attack Mode?" says Serena. Ash nods his head. "Well, normally, Jounochi would be safe and wouldn't lose any life points should that ox attack. However, Enraged Battle Ox can inflict damage even if a monster is in Defense Mode; the difference is instead taken from Alligator's Sword's Defense Points."

"Go my monster!" says Seto. "Smash Jounochi's Alligator's Sword in half!"

Enraged Battle Ox charges toward Alligator's Sword like, well an ox would, bringing its weapon down and cleaving the reptilian warrior into pixels and taking some of Jounochi's lifepoints with him.

 **(Seto: 8000) - - - - - - - (Jounochi: 7500)**

"Not so fast," says Jounochi. "I'm activating my facedown card, Call of the Haunted!"

The facedown card flips over, revealing the Continuous Trap Card. Soon, Alligator's Sword returns, sword ready. (1500 ATK)

"Huh?" says Ash. "But didn't Seto destroy that thing already?"

"Call of the Haunted can bring back a monster from the graveyard," Serena explains. "And the monster gets to stay on the field for as long as that Trap Card is in play."

"Oh…"

"Guess I'll end it one card facedown," Seto notes, slipping his own facedown card behind Enraged Battle Ox. He smirks as Jounochi prepares to draw his card. "Show me your moves, love."

The comment causes a wave of squeals to come from the audience, mostly from girls. Ash tilts his head in confusion as Jounochi draws his card.

"You want my moves, huh?" he chuckles. "Then I'll show them to you! I play Polymerization to fuse Alligator's Sword with Baby Dragon to form my Alligator's Sword Dragon!"

Appearing next to Alligator's Sword is an adorable orange dragon (1200 ATK) that lets out a squeal before the two fly into a vortex above their heads. Seconds later, the two return, but this time it depicts Alligator's Sword riding Baby Dragon. (1700 ATK)

"Whoa!" says Ash. "Is that a Fusion?"

"Yep!" says Rebecca. "The most basic type of summon when you combine two or more monsters together. Of course, there are _better_ ways of summoning, but that'll be for later."

"Normally if I should attack, both of our monsters go kaput," says Jounochi. "But Alligator Sword's Dragon can attack directly if the only monsters you control are of either Earth, Fire or Water attribute. And your Ox there is Earth so…"

Alligator Sword's Dragon flies into the air and swoops past Enraged Battle Ox, aiming an attack at Seto's Duel Disk with its sword before returning to Jounochi's side. Much of the audience cheers as Cynthia nods her head in approval.

 **(Seto: 6300) - - - - - - - (Jounochi: 7500)**

"And I'm not done," Jounochi continues. "I'll be placing one monster and another card facedown to end my turn."

A facedown defense monster and another card behind that appears besides Alligator Sword's Dragon. Seto takes the time to draw his card.

"Not bad," he notes. "But it'll take more than that to defeat me. I activate my facedown card, The Melody of Awakening Dragon!"

Seto's facedown card reveals itself. It is a Spell Card depicting the Lord of D. playing a blue and white electric guitar.

"That's new," Jounochi mutters as he watches his opponent discard a card from his hand.

"By discarding one card from my hand," Seto explains, showing White Stone of Legend before sending it to the graveyard, "I'll be able to take two Dragons with 3000 ATK or more and 2500 DEF or less from my deck into my hand. Plus, by discarding White Stone of Legend from my hand, I can add an additional Blue-Eyes White Dragon for a total of three dragons that I'll use to wipe you out next turn."

"OOOH!" The crowd gasps. Ash looks in utter confusion as he turns to Mokuba.

"My brother's strongest monsters are the Blue Eyes White Dragons," he explains. "And having _three_ of them in his hand spells 'Big Trouble' for Jounochi."

Ash just nods his head as Seto reveals one of those Blue-Eyes White Dragons to Jounochi. Jounochi gulps.

"Y...you're not gonna summon that thing now...right?" he stammers.

"Nope," Seto smirks. "But to summon my _Blue-Eyes Alternate White Dragon_ , I'll have to show you at least one of them."

"Oh boy…"

With a mighty roar, a majestic dragon comes into view. Ash can hardly say anything as the dragon flaps its mighty wings. It looks similar to the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon, except there are a few black markings on the wings to differentiate it from its more well-known cousin. (3000 ATK)

"I'm not done," Seto continues. "If I sacrifice my dragon's attack, I can destroy one monster you control. So…"

The Alternate White Dragon opens its mouth and fires a blast of lightning that incinerates Jounochi's Fusion Monster. Then, Enraged Battle Ox lets out a snort and charges toward Jounochi's facedown monster, an adorable baby dragon with black scales, cleaving it in half and taking more of Jounochi's lifepoints. (700 DEF)

 **(Seto: 6300) - - - - - - - (Jounochi: 6500)**

"I knew you were gonna do that," Jounochi smirks. "By destroying my Red-Eyes Baby Dragon, I can Special Summon a level 7 or lower 'Red-Eyes' monster on the field!"

"Ha!" Seto replies. "What are you going to do? Summon your normal Red-Eyes Black Dragon? If you're going to try and summon Red Eyes Darkness Dragon to strike back, then I'm afraid you're mistaken."

"Who said it was just my regular Red-Eyes?" says Jounochi. "Introducing one of the newest members of my deck...the great and powerful Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning!"

Bolts of lightning rain from the sky as the Fiend-type monster materializes, skeletal-looking with red eyes and black wings and sharp claws ready to swipe anything in half. (2500 ATK)

"That's not all," Jounochi continues. "When Red-Eyes Baby Dragon is destroyed in battle, I can equip him to my Archfiend to give him an additional 300 Attack Points!"

Red-Eyes Baby Dragon perchs itself onto the Archfiend's shoulder and growls softly. (2500 - 2800 ATK)

"Then it looks like I'm ending this with one card facedown," says Seto, slipping a facedown card behind his two monsters. "Let's see where this new monster takes us."

"Gladly," says Jounochi, drawing his card. "And now, I'll use my regular Normal Summon so I can Gemini Summon my Archfiend!"

"Gemini Summon?" Haruka repeats. "I don't think I've ever heard of a Red-Eyes monster like that before…"

"When I Gemini Summon my Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning, I can now activate his effect!" Jounochi exclaims. "He can destroy every monster you control whose defense is less than its attack!"

"And with Red-Eyes Baby Dragon equipped, he can destroy Seto's Blue-Eyes Alternate White Dragon!" Mokuba exclaims. "That's genius!"

"Go, my Archfiend!" says Jounochi, pointing toward Seto's monsters. "Destroy them!"

The Archfiend of Lightning raised its claws into the air as bolts of lightning struck down on Seto's side of the field. Then, after a rather large bolt, the field is clear.

"He's ready for a direct attack!" Cynthia announces. "This could be the move that chances everything!"

"Attack directly!" Jounochi exclaims.

Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning swoops into the sky, preparing an orb of darkness that he hurls directly at Seto's Duel Disk. Unfortunately, the CEO is prepared.

"You activated my Trap Card, Negate Attack!" says Seto, shielding himself with his Duel Disk as he reveals his facedown card.

The attack bounces harmlessly against the card as the crowd looks disappointed. Jounochi just groans.

"Why do you always have the card on ya?" he asks. "Besides," With a smirk, he places another card facedown. "That thing can't stop us at night…"

Another burst of squees from the girls catches Ash off-guard. Cynthia chuckles as Seto draws a card.

"Leave the one-liners in the bedroom, dears," she says. "Now, if we can get back to the duel…."

"Not bad," Seto says with a smile. "But two can play that game! I summon Lord of D. in Attack Mode!"

"Ooh, Jounochi's in a corner…" Serena says with a wince as the Spellcaster materializes. "This will **not** end well."

"The monster looks weak compared to Jounochi's Archfiend though," says Ash, noting the 1200 ATK score on the Spellcaster.

"But Lord of D. can protect Seto's Dragon-type monsters from card effects," says Rebecca. "Not to mention that Lord of D. can be used in conjunction with-"

"The Flute of Summoning Dragon!" Seto announces, finishing Rebecca's sentence. "And with this card, I can Special Summon my two Blue-Eyes White Dragons onto the field!"

"Yeah, he's done for," says Serena. "Say, did we make a bet on who would win this duel?"

"No, I don't think so." Rebecca answers.

Lord of D. takes the golden flute with the dragon's head at the bottom and blows on it. The flute vanishes and appearing by his sides are two Blue-Eyes White Dragons. (3000 ATK x2)

"And now," Seto continues. "I think it's time for me to clear the field. Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning with White Lightning!"

The first Blue-Eyes White Dragon opens its mouth and unleashes a burst of energy that temporarily blinds everyone. When the light dies down, the Archfiend of Lightning, and the Red- Eyes Baby Dragon equipped to it, is gone.

 **(Seto: 6300) - - - - - - - (Jounochi: 6300)**

"And this is the part where Jounochi must tank 4000 points worth of damage, right?" asks Masato. The others nod their heads. "This is gonna hurt."

Jounochi gulps as he quickly takes a card from his deck to his hand (an effect from Red-Eyes Baby Dragon) just as Lord of D. smirks.

"This isn't personal, puppy," says Seto. "But don't worry, I'll make it up to you tonight."

"Oooh…." Rebecca, Serena and Haruka say in response. For the third time, Ash is confused.

"What's going on?" asks Ash. Pikachu also tilts its head in confusion.

"Can't you see it?" says Rebecca with a dreamy sigh. "From the way they look at each other, or how they talk...that love is in the air?"

"Love?" Ash repeats incredulously. "They're in _love_?!"

"Duh," Serena replies with an eye roll. "Oh wait, don't tell me…"

"What?" asks Ash, looking around. "What's wrong?

"Those two...they must like _girls_ back in your world!" Serena exclaims. "Oh the agony!" Masato and Mokuba roll their eyes at their friend's melodrama just as Seto has announced that Lord of D. attacks directly.

Jounochi has no time to protect himself as both Spellcaster and Dragon fire blasts of energy, darkness and light, at him. He brings up his Duel Disk to shield himself, but he ends up being thrown back a few feet as his lifepoints drop even further.

 **(Seto: 6300) - - - - - - - (Jounochi: 2100)**

"Oh my!" Cynthia comments. "Jounochi is now to about a quarter of his lifepoints! How will he respond?"

"With this!" says Jounochi, slowly standing up. "I activate my Shock Draw Trap Card! Now, for every 1000 points of damage I took this turn, I get to draw a card from my deck!"

A gasp catches everyone by surprise as Jounochi's facedown card reveals itself. Jounochi smirks as he begins to draw cards.

"Amazing!" says Cynthia. "Jounochi took a 4000 point direct attack for a new hand. But will the cards he draw be enough?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," says Jounochi. "Back to you... _love_."

Seto grunts as he sets two cards facedown. Meanwhile, Jounochi draws a card to expand his hand to six.

"All right, time to bring this to a close!" says Jounochi. "First, I activate my Trap Card, Red-Eyes Spirit!"

The first of Jounochi's two facedown cards lifted, revealing Red-Eyes Black Dragon surrounded by a yellow light. Then, materializing on the field, is Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning (2500 ATK)

"This Trap Card lets me Special Summon a 'Red-Eyes' Monster from my Graveyard onto the field," Jounochi explains. "But I'm not done; I play Red-Eyes Transmigration!"

A Spell Card appears, depicting a purple-skinned being wrapped in flames. The Ritual Spell Card bursts into flames as Jounochi shows off two cards: The Red Stone of Legend and Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"By sacrificing materials from my hand that equal Level 8 or more, I can summon my powerful Lord of the Red in Attack Mode!" says Jounochi. "And before you ask, when you sent my Archfiend to the graveyard while Red-Eyes Baby Dragon was equipped to it, I could search for a Level 1 Dragon-type monster from my Deck and add it into my hand. So you did me a big favor…"

"Like he will tonight…" Haruka adds with a smile.

"Like you will tonight," Jounochi adds with a wink. Haruka and Serena give each other a high-five as Seto chuckles.

Emerging from the flames is a warrior dressed in armor modeled after the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. The Monster smirked as it stared down Lord of D. (2400 ATK)

"Seto's in trouble now…" says Mokuba, noting how Jounochi is laughing.

"And don't forget my second facedown card, Castle of Dragon Souls!" Jounochi exclaims.

The second card lifts, depicting a stone castle rising to the sky and a myriad of dragons surrounding it. A card, Red-Eyes Baby Dragon, pops out of Jounochi's graveyard.

"Here's how this card works," he explains. "I banish one Dragon in my Graveyard, then I choose a monster on the field. The monster chosen gets an additional 700 Attack Points until the end of my turn."

"That means…" Seto's eyes widen as he sees Red-Eye's Archfiend now at 3200 ATK Then, Lord of the Red begins to glow, summoning a huge fireball directly at a sweating Lord of D.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that whenever a card, or its effect, activates, my Lord of the Red can destroy a monster on the field?" asks Jounochi. "Silly me; I can be so forgetful!"

Lord of the Red hurls its fireball at Lord of D., the Spellcaster unable to scream before it becomes nothing but ashes. Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning then follows it up by flying into the air.

"And you know what my Archfiend's capable of…"

The Fiend-type Monster summons a bolt of lightning that strikes both of Seto's Blue-Eyes White Dragons, the monsters letting out one final roar before being sent to the graveyard.

"Now let's try this again," says Jounochi. "Attack directly!"

Lord of Red and Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning fly toward the CEO as everyone else look in awe. Ash and Pikachu are about to cheer...

But Ash pauses.

Instead of the duel, he now sees Jounochi rushing toward a defenseless Seto, whose face is covered in blood, alongside his weapon. Jounochi does not see this though; instead, he has his axe raised into the air, ready to chop Seto's head clean off…

"NO!" Ash cries out, just as the two monsters are about to strike. Everyone momentarily stops and turns to Ash, who blinks and sees everyone staring at him. Serena turns bright red and knocks him over the head with her broom.

"What in the world are you doing?" she hisses, grabbing his arm. "Are you trying to ruin the duel for everyone?"

"N...no!" Ash stammers out. "You see...I thought...Jounochi...he was attacking Seto and…"

"Well, yeah he was attacking Seto. Who wouldn't miss an opportunity to unleash about 5000 points of damage to one's lifepoints?"

"But…" Ash stays quiet as Jounochi continues his attack, with both Archfiend and Lord of the Red firing their attacks that cause Seto to be knocked back a few feet (but otherwise, he's still standing).

 **(Seto: 700) - - - - - - - (Jounochi: 2100)**

As Jounochi's monsters return to their side of the field, Seto lets out a laugh as his facedown cards lift, revealing his copy of Shock Draw and Call of the Haunted.

"Five cards to be drawn and a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from the graveyard?" Rebecca exclaims. "Why do I feel like this is gonna end badly?"

As Seto draws five more cards, and his Blue-Eyes White Dragon emerges from the graveyard, Jounochi grins.

"Now this is what I wanted to see!" he says. "But, in case you get any funny ideas-and I'm not talking about those in bed-" Another round of squeals emerges. "I'll be equipping Lord of the Red with Dragon Shield!"

A spiky shield emerges in Lord of the Red's hands.

"As long as this card is equipped onto my Dragon, it can't be destroyed by battle or card effects AND any battle damage from attacks get dropped to zero," Jounochi explains. "So you could summon a Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon combined with Fairy's Meteor Crush and to destroy him and he'd _still_ be standing!"

"Oh, you naive boy," says Seto, wagging a finger at his opponent as he draws a card. "I won't have to use Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon to defeat you. First off, I activate Curse of Fiend to move all our monsters into Defense Mode."

The Spell Card is played as all monsters crouch into Defense Mode.

"Next," Seto continues. "I activate my Ritual Spell Card, Chaos Form!"

Jounochi gasps as he sees the Spell Card-a purple and silver gate opening with black energy being unleashed-appear on the field. Then, Seto's Blue-Eyes White Dragon begins to glow.

"This Ritual Card can be used on a variety of monsters," Seto explains. "But for this specific summon, I'll sacrifice Blue-Eyes White Dragon to summon my _Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon_ in Attack Mode!"

Blue-Eyes White Dragon begins to grow, its body resembling ice as it unleashed a burst of azure flames from its wings. It lets out a low growl at Jounochi and his monsters. (4000 ATK)

"Oh boy…" says Masato.

"And what was that you said? Something about 'Fairy Meteor Crush', hmm?" Seto tilts his head to the side. "Well, my Chaos MAX Dragon can inflict piercing damage onto your monster and the damage you take _doubles_."

"Well, that's if it's left standing," says Jounochi. "Since you activated your Ritual Card, I can use Lord of the Red's ability to destroy your dragon!"

Lord of the Red flies into the air once more and hurls a ball of fire at Seto's more powerful dragon. A cloud of smoke hits the arena as everyone waits for the results. When the smoke clears…

Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon is still left standing!

"What?! But...how…" Jounochi stammers, just as shocked as everyone else. Seto laughs.

"My Chaos MAX Dragon can't be destroyed by your measly Lord of the Red," he explains. "And, while Lord of the Red will be spared from the humiliation of being destroyed, you have no protection for your Archfiend, now do you?

"Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon, attack with Blue Chaos Flame Blitz!"

Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon opens its mouth and unleashes a blast of blue fire at the defensive Archfiend, the monster letting out an unearthly howl before being sent to the graveyard.

 **(Seto: 700) - - - - - - - (Jounochi: 0)**

"The duel is over!" says Cynthia. "And the winner is Seto Kaiba!"

There's some more cheers as the holograms vanish and the two duelists approach the center of the stage. Jounochi smirks as he and Seto shake hands.

"Not bad," he says. "That thing with Shock Draw and Call of the Haunted though...you sure you weren't reading my mind when designing that deck?"

"Hardly." Seto smirks as he drag Jounochi closer. "We were too busy looking into each others' eyes for me to even _consider_ such a thing."

The air is tense as the audience is anticipating the next move. Serena, Rebecca and Haruka are bouncing on the balls of their feet, Masato is slowly raising his hands to his ears, Mokuba just pinches the bridge of his nose, and Ash is absolutely confused. Pikachu tilts his head once more.

"So…" Jounochi cups a hand underneath Seto's chin as he leans closer. "What do you say? Do we kiss and make-up?"

"Do it, do it, do it, do it…!" The girls chant to themselves.

Seto's grin grows before he takes Jounochi into his arms and places a deep kiss onto the blond duelist's lips.

"YAY!" cry most of the audience as Ash finds himself disoriented from the screaming fangirls (and fanboys). Serena has her cellphone out and is taking as many photos as she can before the two lovers have to step away. Cynthia clears her throat as she approaches Seto Kaiba.

"Congratulations on your victory," she says. "And now, as victor of this duel, you are given the chance to pull the Bound Scepter of Destiny out of its pedestal. Will you be the chosen one this time around?"

"Let's see," Seto turns to the statue, his eyes momentarily locking onto the statue's own, before he grasps onto the scepter with both hands. The audience is silence once more as Ash can see the crystal on the scepter glowing. Another rush of memories appears in his mind…

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-**

 _The wielder of the scepter is on the run, avoiding blasts of lightning all while trying to figure out how to use the scepter's power before it's too late. Their heart is pounding in their chest as they raced throughout the corridors...Left here, right there...it's all too confusing._

 _Eventually, the person stops at a dead end. A shadow looms over them; the figure slowly turns around, and standing in front of them is Seto Kaiba with a wicked look in his eye._

" _There you are…" Seto smirks, his body glowing with a dark aura. "I finally found you, you little rat."_

 _The staff wielder whimpers as he points the staff toward Kaiba. Then, there is a blast of red light…_

 **0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Don't do it!" Ash screams out, rushing toward the stage. "Seto, don't pull the scepter out!"

Everyone turns to see Ash scramble to the stage, tackling Seto to the side just as he's about to pull the scepter out of the statue's hands. There's a lot of whispering as Jounochi drags Ash away from his boyfriend.

"What the heck are you doing, kid?" he exclaims. "Wait...weren't you the one who tried to stop the duel earlier?"

"You don't understand!" Ash exclaims. "Something...in that staff...you can't let Seto pull it out."

"And why not?!" Jounochi narrows his eyes as moves Ash to the side.

"You have to believe me on this," Ash continues. "There's something inside that is going to hurt people, or worse."

"How do we trust you?" Ash gulps just as Seto approaches the scepter, also not believing the boy's words. Before Ash can say anything else, Jounochi grabs his arm and pulls him away. Seto grabs onto the scepter once more and with a mighty tug…

Nothing happens.

Ash lets out a sigh as Cynthia helps him get back to his friends, all of them looking at him as if he has grown an additional head. The woman stares at him for a while before turning to the audience.

"Well," she announces to a microphone. "That was quite an unexpected surprise, but you never know what to expect in the world of Duel Monsters! And with that, the opening ceremonies have ended. Now go out and celebrate the joy of dueling!"

Everyone cheers as Cynthia bows to the audience. Ash takes one more look at the statue before he goes back to his new friends, still trying to figure out what he has just seen.

 _I'm not mad..._ He thinks to himself. _At least...I hope I'm not…._

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Within the darkness, the being begins to awaken.

How long has it been since he could feel a presence of power? Days? Months? Years? It seems like time is nothing when you are asleep.

But now, now they can feel a sense of self after what feels like an eternity. In no time, he will awaken. He will escape his prison and unleash his power on those would dare try to cross him.

In no time, he will be free.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-**

 **Serena: So Ash, did you like what you see?**

 **Ash: Yeah, I did! The duel was amazing! I can't wait to see what else is coming. As long as it doesn't involve that creepy scepter...**

 **Masato: You won't have to wait long; Serena's going to be dueling as a promise to a friend of hers.**

 **Rebecca: And she's going against me. She's got no chance against my monsters.**

 **Mokuba: Today's festivities are just starting everyone.**

 **Haruka: Next time, Ab Initio Chapter 2: "Friend Guard".**

 **Rebecca: It's time for us to hit the climax!**


	3. Friend Guard

_**Call me, Serena. My friends get to call me "Satoshi" if they want to (don't you dare ask why).**_

 _ **Today is a grand day: the sun is shining, people are dueling, I've just seen Seto Kaiba and Katsuya Jounochi duel (and kiss!) and I now have a new card to go with my deck. The rest of the day is going to be even MORE amazing!**_

 _ **Well, it'd be better if it wasn't for one certain girl that I'd rather not name at this point…**_

 _ **I'm getting ahead of myself, though. All I can say is that I'm glad that I'm here with my best friends, having pizza for lunch, having plans to attend Domino City's Duel Academy and more.**_

 _ **What could possibly go wrong?**_

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **2nd Draw**

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **Friend Guard**

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

" _Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness."_

 _-Euripides_

"Eureka, come back here!"

Eureka, a young girl with blonde hair currently dressed as Key Mace, runs throughout the amusement park, a big smile on her face as her older brother, dressed as Neo the Magic Swordsman, struggles to catch up with her. Eureka is carrying a Winged Kuriboh plushie in her hands as she heads off to the next carnival booth to see what else she can win.

"Come on, big brother!" Eureka cries out to the older boy. "We're not even halfway there!"

"Just...let me...catch my breath…" The older boy, who is named Citron, wheezes out. He leans against a post...only it isn't a post, but a rather tall person. He pauses as he looks up at the person his hand is pressed against...someone dressed as Ebon Illusion Magician. He doesn't realize this mistake until the "post" clears their throat.

"Um...uh…" Citron stammers out as he steps back. "I'm so sorry, sir! I...I didn't mean…"

"Big bro, what's going on?" asks Eureka, approaching her frightened brother. She then looks at the Ebon Illusion Magician, her eyes wide as she looks him up and down. "Whoa…"

The Ebon Illusion Magician shifts his gaze toward the Key Mace, his grey eyes staring into her innocent blue ones. Citron hastily stands inbetween the two as he points his sword at the taller man.

"S...stay away from her, I'm warning you!" he says. "Whatever you want with me, don't get her involved...okay?"

"We only wanted to ask a question," A voice states from behind. Citron turns around, and someone dressed as Vampire Lord nods his head. Next to them is a little boy dressed like Hero Kid with a big grin on their face, and a figure dressed up like Elemental Hero Sparkman. Eureka's eyes grow big as she inspects the three newcomers.

"We're looking for someone who's dressed like a D. D. Warrior Lady wielding a silver Duel Disk," says the Hero Kid cosplayer. "She should be part of a group that has Ghostrick Witch, Crystal Seer, Warlock of the Ice Barrier and Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss. Have you seen her?"

"I have, I have!" Eureka answers, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I think I saw them going to the food truck run by the Madolche Marmalmaide. They have a Breaker the Magical Warrior on them with some cute little monster on their shoulder called a Pikachu dressed like Peten the Dark Clown!"

"Well...that's new," says the Elemental Hero Sparkman. "And apparently Becca just picked up a new friend."

"She's always in a rush to be with her friends, huh Varon?" says the Hero Kid with a giggle. "If she found a glowing portal to another world, I bet she'd rush into it without hesitation."

"Now, now, Miruko," says the Vampire Lord, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "If it wasn't for her rushing in, she would never have found us all those years ago. Correct?"

Miruko bites his lip, a tiny fang poking out as he nods his head.

"Yeah, I can't forget about that, Amelda," he says. Amelda smiles and pats his little brother's shoulder.

The Ebon Illusion Magician pats Eureka on the head and pulls out something from a satchel he is carrying, a string of seashells.

"So pretty…" Eureka whispers, taking the seashells into her hand. "Thank you so much, Mr. Ebon Illusion Magician sir!"

"Call me Raphael," The magician says with a smile. He then turns to the companions. "Come on, we better get going before Rebecca starts dueling and realizes she's taken the wrong deck. Again."

The others nod their heads as they head off. Eureka waves good-bye to them as Citron lets out a sigh. As he does, he turns to his sister.

"Eureka," he says. "Did you notice something strange about them?"

"No," Eureka shakes her head. "Why do you ask?"

"Because for some odd reason, the Vampire Lord and Hero Kid looked _really_ pale."

"It's probably make-up," Eureka answers with a shrug of her shoulders. "Now come on, let's get back to those carnival games! Race ya there!"

"W-wait! Eureka, come back here!"

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

The Thousand Pieces Food Truck isn't just known for its delicious pancakes and desserts-they're also known for having some mighty food challenges for occasions such as the Duel Monsters Spirit Festival.

Today's challenge is something known as _Devil May Cry_ : the goal is for the group to finish a sixteen slice pizza topped with chili peppers, pepperoni, spicy sausage and more, alongside a two gallon-tall strawberry sundae for dessert. The time limit is ninety minutes and the winners get a photo on the Thousand Pieces' Hall of Fame and other prizes that varied depending on the contest itself.

This is what Rebecca is waiting for as she and her friends sit at a table in front of the Food Truck. Joining them is a young girl dressed as a maid, who shares a laugh with Serena.

"But seriously, Millefeui," says Serena. "How exactly did you get a copy of that card? I've searched high and low for something like that."

"Someone mailed it to me a couple of days ago," Millefeui answers, taking a sip of her lime juice. "There wasn't a name to it, but the return address was what surprised me."

"How come?" asks Ash. Pikachu is too busy with a ketchup bottle in his paws to pay attention to the conversation. Millefeui pauses as she stirs her drink with the straw in hand.

"Well, it's because it came from the old manor…" she answers, causing Serena to raise an eyebrow. "But everyone knows that no one's lived in that manor for years…"

"Maybe the person there is pulling a Marcus on dear Skate?"

The group turns around, seeing a girl dressed up as Eria the Water Charmer approach them, a smirk on her face as she looks at Serena. Serena rolls her eyes.

"Hikari…" The Ghostrick Witch cosplayer says in a strained voice. "Nice to see _you_ around."

Hikari chuckles as she sits herself down in-between Haruka and Rebecca, neither girl liking how the Water Charmer leans close to Serena.

"Who's she?" Ash asks Masato.

"Hikari, a girl who's been rivals with Serena and Millefeui ever since they first met," Masato answers. "They hate each other with a passion. To quote a certain musical…"

" _Every little trait however small, makes my very flesh begin to crawl…"_ Mokuba notes as he sees the lightning shoot between Hikari and Serena's eyes. "Oh, this is gonna be bad."

"I am curious as to why someone would use the old manor would to give you something, Serena," Hikari ponders. "I mean, that is the same place where you got those little nightmares, right?"

"Of course," Serena answers. "And you recorded the duel, posted it on your blog and I was hounded that entire _summer_ from duelists wanting me to use that deck in action."

"You should be more grateful," Hikari exclaims. "I made you _famous_!"

"You made me feel like I was going to unleash Hell on Earth."

"Look, if you don't have anything you want to order, then beat it," says Millefeui, glancing at her watch. "My break is about to end in five minutes and I think I can kill that time with a duel."

Hikari just laughs. " _You_ try to beat _me_ and the newest additions I added to my deck?" she says. "I'll be trouncing your cookie monsters without breaking a sweat!" She then notices Pikachu licking the top of the ketchup bottle. "And what the heck is that?"

"It's Pikachu," says Ash, liking the girl's attitude less and less. "He's my best friend."

Hikari smirks. "Like Serena's best friends are a bunch of ghosts? Well, at least this 'Pikachu' of yours is _visible_." Serena snarls as Hikari clasps her hands together. "Oh, I must've struck a nerve. How awful of me."

"Not as awful as the beatdown you're gonna get if you don't leave right now," says Haruka, noticing a shadow looming over the group.

"Is that supposed to be a threat, Miss Tarot?" Hikari asks with a raise of her eyebrow.

"No, it's simply a fact," Haruka answers, not even looking up. "Turn around."

Hikari does so, and flinches when she sees an Ebon Illusion Magician looking down at her, ready to snap her in two if he feels like it.. Rebecca squeals.

"Raphael nii-san!" she exclaims, wrapping her arms around the Illusion Magician's waist. "You made it!"

"Is she bothering you and your friends again?" Raphael asks, turning to a sweating Hikari. Rebecca stands up and shakes her head.

"She was just leaving, weren't ya?" she says with a smirk. Hikari quickly stands up and turns away with a "Hmph."

"I have to go looking for my boyfriend, anyhow," she says. "I don't need to care about what cards Serena got from whoever pulled a Marcus on her, anyway! So there!"

As she walks off, Millefeui finishes her lime juice as Serena curls her hand into a fist. As she does, three more figures emerge.

"What did we miss?" asks Miruko. His eyes latch onto Pikachu as he exclaims, "It's so CUTE! Don't you think so, Amelda nii-san?"

"Hey!" says Ash, noticing Miruko gathering Pikachu into his arms and swinging round and round. "Be careful! Pikachu doesn't like that!"

"You heard him," said a voice, one with a Cockney accent from the looks of it. Miruko turns to see the Elemental Hero Sparkman take Pikachu out of his hands and begins inspecting him from different angles. "Hmm...is it a toy of some sorts?"

"No, it's a Pokémon," Ash answers, noticing how the strange person is tugging on PIkachu's ears and cheek, Pikachu's cheeks starting to spark.

"Varon," says Amelda, also noticing PIkachu's growing annoyance. "I think you might want to listen to the boy and give him that 'Pikachu' back."

"Come on, Amelda," Varon smirks. "What's the worse that can happen?" His eyes widen when he sees Pikachu's tail. "Oh look! Its tail even looks a lightning bolt! I wonder what happens if I pull it like-"

The second his gloved hand tugs Pikachu's tail, Pikachu unleashes a powerful electric attack that shocks everyone in the vicinity. Seconds later, Pikachu wiggles its way out of Varon's grasp and back to the lone ketchup bottle on the table as Varon coughs.

"So that's what happens…" he mutters.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

After everyone is back to normal, and Rebecca requests that Millefeui doubles the amount for the food challenge to accommodate everyone, they all begin to talk about what type of adventures and things they have seen throughout the festival. Serena isn't part of the conversations, though. Instead, she lets out a sigh as she stares at the card Millefeui gave her earlier. Rebecca notices this.

"It's about what she said about Satoshi and the Old Mansion, isn't it?" Serena just nods her head. "You can't let that girl get to you. Satoshi wouldn't want that, now would he?"

"I suppose not," says Serena, slipping the card into her deck. "Yeah, enough moping around. We should do something while we wait for the pizza to bake. How about we pass the time with a duel?"

"Yeah!" Rebecca hops to her feet. "You're going to see the improvements I made to my deck when I-"

"Oh, that reminds me," Raphael interrupts, pulling out something from his satchel. "In your haste to get to Kaiba Land, you accidentally took my deck by mistake."

"Yeah, right," says Rebecca, drawing five cards from her deck. "There's no way that I'd…" She stops as she looks at the cards she drew before Raphael draws five cards from the deck in his hands and shows them to her. She gasps. "Sweet Lancea, you're right! How did I not see that sooner?"

"Maybe because all you wanted to see were those two kissing?" Varon mutters. Miruko giggles.

Hastily exchanging decks with her older brother, Rebecca mutters an apology as Ash turns to Amelda.

"So," he says. "You're one of Rebecca's older brothers, huh? How did that happen?"

"Miruko, Varon and I traveled together after we lost our families," Amelda answers, not even bothered that he should be sweating underneath his attire. Miruko removes his bubble-like helm and looks at the sun with a bright smile on his face. "Rebecca and Raphael invited us to their house and...we've been with them ever since."

"Yeah," Varon reaches out and wraps his arm around Amelda and smiles. "It was pretty funny how quick they were to accept us." He places a kiss on Amelda's cheek to prove the point. Ash nearly chokes on his drink when he sees Varon rest his head against Amelda's shoulder, Amelda relaxing slightly. Haruka, Masato and Mokuba smile though. Varon raises an eyebrow at Ash's expression. "Does the me back in your world like girls or something?"

"I wouldn't know that for sure…" Ash trails off as he sees Serena and Rebecca prepare for their duel. "Say, what type of deck does Rebecca use?"

"You'll see," Raphael says with a smile. "But let's just say that it involves weapons. Lots and lots of weapons."

"And what about Serena?"

"You're looking at one of the monsters she uses," says Mokuba, pointing to Serena's witch costume. "You'll see soon enough."

"Let's hit the climax, Serena!" Rebecca shouts, drawing five cards. She then spins around with a dramatic flair, blonde hair flying behind her as she adds, "You ready?"

"I am," Serena chuckles, fanning her cards out. "Duelist beware...you're in for a scare!"

"Let's duel!" The two girls shout.

 **(Serena: 8000) - - - - - - - (Rebecca: 8000)**

"What's with those catch phrases?" asks Ash.

"It's tradition for duelists to come up with their own battle cry," Miruko answers. "It's sort of like a dueling fingerprint."

"You heard my brother's battlecry, remember?" says Mokuba. "'Let's make this showy'."

"I swear, I think Jounochi's getting him into too much _Super Sentai_ ," Masato teases. "It's a good thing he wasn't going something like, 'It's about to get wild! Try and stop us!' because _that_ would've sounded different if placed out of context."

This causes Rebecca and Serena to double over laughing while Haruka does her best to stifle a laugh of her own. The boys shake their heads with a sigh as Serena draws a card.

"I'll go first," she says. "And I'll start by placing one monster face-down and end my turn."

A face-down monster materializes in front of Serena while Rebecca draws a card.

"Decisions, decisions," she mutters, looking at her cards. "Oh, I know! I'll set one monster face-down, and two more cards face-down. Back to you."

"That seems...anti-climatic," Ash notes. "I thought it'd be more exciting like what Seto and Jounochi did."

"You'll see sparks flying soon enough," says Masato. "It's Serena's turn."

"I'm up," says Serena, drawing her card. "And now, I'm gonna flip-summon Ghostrick Mummy in Attack Mode!"

Serena's set card lifts, revealing a mummy that lets out a huge yawn and stretches their linen covered arms. (1500 ATK)

" _Is it time to fight, Satoshi?"_ Ghostrick Mummy groans. _"I was having a nice dream about mud, too…"_

"You'll be back in your sarcophagus in no time," says Serena. "And to continue...

"I'll set one monster face-down and that way my mummy won't be crying out for 'Mommy'." She chuckles a bit. "Get it? Get it?" She is faced with awkward silence as she lets out a sigh. "Forget I said that, then."

Ghostrick Mummy laughs at the joke as a face-down monster appears to his right.

"And that's not all," Serena continues, placing a monster card face-down. "With Ghostrick Mummy on the field, once per turn I can make an additional Normal Summon as long as it's for a 'Ghostrick' monster. So, I'll summon his best friend, Ghostrick Stein in Attack Mode!"

A Frankenstein's Monster dressed in maroon appears to Ghostrick Mummy's left. (1600 ATK). The two monsters look at one another then give each other a fist-bump.

"Wow! Three monsters at once!" Ash exclaims. "But wait...is it just me, or did her monster just _speak_?"

"They're special," Millefeui explains, quickly poking her head out of the food truck with a smile. "They're spirits of Duel Monsters that befriended her when she was little. In fact, it's because of them that Serena and I became good friends in the first place."

"Ghostrick Mummy, attack her face-down monster!" says Serena, pointing at Rebecca's face-down card.

Ghostrick Mummy charges toward the face-down card, an angel wearing a toga and bright yellow wings. (800 DEF) It shatters with just one punch as Serena looks worried.

"You just destroyed my Shining Angel," says Rebecca, as a card pops out of her deck. "And when it's destroyed in battle, I can Special Summon a Light-type Monster from my deck that has less than 1500 Attack Points. And I think the best card for that will be my Artifact Beagalltach in Attack Mode!"

A large sword with glowing red lines emerges onto the field, wielded by a strange warrior composed of red light. (1400 ATK)

"A sword?" asks Ash.

"An Artifact," corrects Rebecca. "Beagalltach is one half of two famous swords used in Irish Mythology; you'll see its twin later.

"And now, since Beagalltach was Special Summoned on Serena's turn, I can use its special ability to destroy up to two set cards I control. Since I can play my Artifact cards like they were Spell or Trap Cards, I can Special Summon them should they be destroyed during my opponent's turn!"

Artifact Beagalltach slices Rebecca's cards in half. Then, two monster zones begin to glow.

"So Artifact Beagalltach is now accompanied by both my Artifact Caduceus and Artifact Scythe in Attack Mode!"

The first monster represents a Caduceus-a winged staff with orange lines and two metal snakes intertwined at the bottom-wielded by an orange figure. (1600 ATK) The second one is a large purple metallic scythe wielded by a similarly purple colored warrior. (2200 ATK)

"And Caduceus can activate its special ability now," Rebecca continues. "Whenever an Artifact monster is Special Summoned during my opponent's turn, I get to draw one card."

She draws, expanding her hand to four.

"I still have another attack though," says Serena. "Ghostrick Stein, attack Beagalltach with Stein Stunner!"

Ghostrick Stein rushes toward the sword, grabbing it into his mighty fists and slams it onto the ground, shattering it into pixels.

 **(Serena: 8000) - - - - - - - (Rebecca: 7800)**

"And when Ghostrick Stein inflicts battle damage, I can take a 'Ghostrick' Spell or Trap Card from my Deck into my hand," says Serena, pulling her deck out. After ten or so cards, she finds the one she's looking for, and places her deck back into her Duel Disk. "And I think I'll play it right now. I set one card and end my turn."

"Finally," says Rebecca, drawing her card. "First, I'll set two more cards face-down."

Two cards appear behind her three Artifact monsters.

"And then I attack! Artifact Caduceus, attack Serena's Ghostrick Mummy!"

The wielder of the Caduceus raises their weapon into the air as Ghostrick Mummy gulps.

"I activate my Trap Card!" Serena exclaims. "Go Ghostrick-Go-Round!"

Serena's Trap Card lifts, revealing Ghostrick Skeleton being spun round and round a spinning wall, its body parts spread out as Ghostrick Jackfrost, Ghostrick Nekomusume and Ghostrick Specter look on.

"I didn't see that last time!" Rebecca gasps. "What does that do?"

"It does one of two effects that I can activate during the Battle Phase," Serena explains. "And the effect I choose is the one where I flip my face-down monster up and place your Artifact Scythe face-down. I'll flip-summon Ghostrick Yeti to activate its effect right now!"

Serena's lone face-down monster flips over, revealing a Yeti with blue and white fur cuddling an adorable white bunny in its massive hands. (300 ATK)

" _Bea!"_ Ghostrick Yeti shouts, seeing Rebecca. _"It good to see you again!"_

"It looks kinda cute," Ash notes. Seeing Ghostrick Yeti waving at the Artifact duelist. Rebecca can't help but wave back, even when Ghostrick Yeti winds up a punch and slams its fist at Ghostrick Scythe and turning it into a face-down card..

"Whenever Ghostrick Yeti is flip-summoned, I can choose one Ghostrick on the field and it can't be destroyed in battle or card effects on the turn I use its effect," Serena explains. "And I choose Ghostrick Mummy to be protected from Caduceus."

Ghostrick Yeti fires a blast of icy magic at Ghostrick Mummy, the mummy hastily grabbing Cadueceus in his mummified hands. Serena slightly flinches as Artifact Caduceus steps back.

 **(Serena: 7800) - - - - - - - (Rebecca: 7800)**

"I'm not done," she continues, slipping a card into her graveyard. "When I take Battle Damage, no matter how small, I can discard my Ghostrick Mary to set another Ghostrick monster face-down."

A Ghostrick Monster, a vanity mirror that depicts a girl in a black dress with white hair (100 ATK), waves at Rebecca before being replaced with Serena's new face-down monster.

"I'll have to end my turn then," sighs Rebecca.

"And I'll gladly start mine," says Serena, drawing her card.

"So _this_ is what Rebecca meant when she asked if her counterpary liked weapons…" says Ash, turning to Raphael. Raphael nods his head.

"Her grandfather is a famous archaeologist," he explains. "And it's through him that she learned about the types of weapons used in all sorts of myths. She's also proficient in fencing when she's not busy dueling…" He takes a glance at Amelda and Varon with the two gently holding hands as they watch the duel. "...or fantasizing on romance between boys."

"I heard that!" says Rebecca. She momentarily notices her other older brothers and blushes before looking at her cards.

"See what I mean?" says Raphael. Ash slowly nods his head.

"And hear this," says Serena. "I'm going to Flip-Summon the monster I set with Ghostrick Mary-Ghostrick Jiangshi, come out!"

A jiangshi, a Chinese vampire dressed in purple and black robes, a necklace of orange beads, and a paper talisman covering his face, appears on the field. (400 ATK) He and the other Ghostrick Monsters share a laugh.

" _We're gonna have lots of fun, aren't we?"_ The jiangshi cackles, waving his arms and letting out a spooky moan at the stoic Artifact monsters.

"And when Ghostrick Jiangshi is Flip-Summoned, I can take a Ghostrick Monster whose level is less than or equal to the number of Ghostrick monsters I currently have on the field from my deck and into my hand," says Serena. "You don't have to worry since the highest level a Ghostrick monster can be is 3…"

After she takes a card into her hand, she sets another monster face-down.

"But you _will_ have to worry when I bring about the Overlay Network and summon Ghostrick Alucard onto the field!"

"'Overlay what?!'" Ash repeats.

"Overlay Network, aka Xyz Summon," Mokuba explains. "That's when you can Special Summon a variety of monsters that have 'Ranks' instead of levels. Most of the time, whenever you Xyz Summon, you need at least two monsters of the same level for this to work."

"And that's what I'm doing with my Level 3 Ghostrick Jiangshi and Ghostrick Stein," says Serena, watching the two Ghostrick monsters transform into orbs of light. Then, they merge into a coffin marked with a cross. "And you'll be seeing the 'baby-sitter' of these playful monsters."

The coffin opens, unleashing a swarm of bats before they all disappear to reveal a vampire in black, with white skin and yellow eyes. (1800 ATK)

" _What did you drag me into this time, Satoshi?"_ Ghostrick Alucard groans as he sees the field. _"I can't get sleep if I keep getting summoned like this."_

"Lighten up, Alucard," says Serena. She then leans close and whispers, "And don't call me 'Satoshi' right now."

" _Fine, fine…"_ Ghostrick Alucard grumbles.

"Talking to yourself again?" asks Rebecca, noticing Serena sighing.

"You know these Ghostrick monsters...they love to talk," says Serena with a shrug. "And anyway…

"I'll use Ghostrick Mummy's special ability to Normal Summon another Ghostrick Monster. So, let's have fun, Ghostrick Ghoul!"

A zombie with blue skin emerges on the field with a groan, bones sticking out of its body as it looks around in confusion. (1100 ATK)

"Ghostrick Ghoul may not look much, but he can power up Ghostrick Alucard's attack equal to the original attack strength of all of my face-up Ghostrick monsters on the field!" Serena smirks. "Since you're the genius among us, can you figure out Alucard's new attack score?"

"1800 plus 300 plus 1100 plus 1500…" Rebecca quickly mutters to herself. "Oh no! Alucard ends up with 4700 Attack Points!"

"More than enough to turn your swords into scrap metal," Serena chuckles. "Ghostrick Ghoul, get ready!"

Ghostrick Ghoul, Mummy and Yeti hold hands and dance around Ghostrick Alucard, the vampire laughing as his attack score rises. (1800 -) 4700 ATK)

"The downside to my Ghoul's trick is that Alucard is the only monster that can attack. But, unfortunately for your Artifacts, Alucard's Attack stays that way until the end of your turn. Oh, and you can't target my other Ghostrick and Set monsters as long as Alucard stands.

"I won't attack just yet, though. I'll use Ghostrick Yeti's effect and make him a face-down card."

 _That's bad._ Rebecca thinks to herself as she watches Ghostrick Yeti flip into a set card. _She'll just use Ghostrick-Go-Round to flip him again and prevent Ghostrick Mummy from being destroyed so she can Summon more monsters on her next turn, and flip another Artifact face-down in the process! I have to stop this before Alucard bombards my lifepoints!_

"Ghostrick Alucard," says Serena. "Attack her Caudceus now!"

Ghostrick Alucard spread his arms out, unleashing a swarm of bats that fly toward Artifact Caudceus. Rebecca snarls.

"I activate my face-down card, Artifact Ignition!" she exclaims.

A Quickplay Spell Card flips over, revealing machinery parts surrounded by steam. Then, Rebecca's other face-down card is destroyed.

"What did you just do?" asks Serena.

"Artifact Ignition lets me destroy a Spell or Trap card on the field, and then lets me set an Artifact monster face-down," Rebecca explains. "And yes, I could've gone for your Ghostrick-Go-Round, but that'll be for later.

"You see, the card I just destroyed is another one of my Artifact monsters...Artifact Failnaught!"

A large bow and arrow lined with green light materializes, wielded by a light green warrior. (2000 ATK)

"So you have a large bow-and-arrow, what else is new?" asks Serena, raising an eyebrow.

"Remember that when an Artifact monster is Special Summoned, Artifact Caduceus lets me draw one card," Rebecca explains, drawing a card from her deck. "Aside from that, when it's summoned on your turn, Artifact Failnaught lets me set an Artifact monster from my graveyard for protection.

"Oh and I also have my other face-down card, Malevolent Catastrophe!"

Rebecca's face-down card lifts to reveal various monsters caught in a storm. Then, both her face-down cards, and Serena's Ghostrick-Go-Round, are destroyed by a powerful gust of wind.

"And with that," Rebecca continues. "I can summon my two Artifact monsters that I set last turn. Come forth again, Artifact Beagalltach and welcome, Artifact Lancea!"

The sword with the red avatar (1400 ATK) and a spear wielded by a figure in cyan (1700 ATK) emerges. Meanwhile, Artifact Caduceus shatters as Ghostrick Alucard lets out a sigh.

 **(Serena: 7800) - - - - - - - (Rebecca: 4800)**

"Wow!" says Ash. "That was amazing! But it looks like Rebecca's monsters work best whenever they're destroyed on Serena's turn, huh?"

"That's the idea," Serena answers to Ash as she plays a card face-down. "I'll end my turn there."

"And I start mine," says Rebecca, drawing a card. "First off, I'll Flip-Summon Artifact Scythe…"

The card flips over, revealing the violet warrior and his scythe. (2200 ATK)

"Then, I play Hammer Shot to destroy a face-up monster with the highest Attack. And since Alucard's attack stays at 4700 until the end of my turn…"

Ghostrick Alucard gulps as a large hammer appears above his head. He has no time to scream before...

 **SPLAT!**

The hammer falls down on him and he becomes nothing more than black pixels.

" _I at least will get some sleep in the graveyard though…"_ Ghostrick Alucard notes. Serena sighs as she looks at her graveyard.

"Alucard is gone, but I can take a Ghostrick card from my graveyard into my hand," she says, placing a card in her hand. "You still have four more Ghostrick monsters to go through, though."

"They'll be gone soon enough," says Rebecca. "Go, my monsters!"

Rebecca's Artifact monsters fly at Serena's Ghostrick monsters-Artifact Beagalltach slices Ghostrick Ghoul in half, Artifact Lancea pierces through Ghostrick Mummy, Artifact Failnaught fires an arrow at the face-down Ghostrick Yeti and Artifact Scythe heads straight toward Serena's face-down monster, a little girl with white hair in a cyan kimono with a purple _obi_ holding a bunny. (800 DEF)

"Oh no, not Ghostrick Yuki-onna!" Rebecca exclaims. "Now Artifact Scythe is stuck in face-down Defense mode!"

Ghostrick Yuki-onna giggles as she unleashes a gentle icy wind towards Artifact Scythe, flipping it face-down before she is sent to the graveyard.

"I'll end my turn by sacrificing my face-down Artifact Scythe for Tethys, Goddess of Light," says Rebecca.

The face-down monster vanishes and in its place is a white angelic being with equally white hair. (2400 ATK)

"Then, I'm placing three cards face-down," Rebecca slips a card into her Duel Disk, reducing her hand to zero. "And that's it."

 **(Serena: 7300) - - - - - - - (Rebecca: 4800)**

"My turn," says Serena, drawing a card. She narrows her eyes-there is something wrong if Rebecca has to play every card face-down "And, since I'm so generous, I'll play Card of Sanctity so that we both draw cards until we have six."

"Thanks," says Rebecca, drawing more cards until she has six more. As she does, she looks at them and smiles before revealing Nova Summoner in her hand. "Oh and whenever I draw a Fairy-type monster, Tethys lets me gain an additional card if I decide to reveal it."

Tethys smiles as a card emerges in her hand. The card then floats to Rebecca's, giving her a total of seven. Meanwhile, Serena has just played Pot of Greed, drawing two more cards to also give her a total of seven.

"I think I'll play Premature Burial next," says Serena. "And by paying 800 lifepoints, I'll use it to Special Summon Ghostrick Mummy from my graveyard."

 **(Serena: 6500) - - - - - - - (Rebecca: 4800)**

"Huh," says Rebecca, watching as Ghostrick Mummy emerges onto the field with another yawn. "I thought you brought it back with Ghostrick Alucard."

"For another time," says Serena. "And now, with my mummy back on the field, I'll be able to summon two more Ghostrick monsters from my hand. So for this turn, I summon Ghostrick Nekomusume and Ghostrick Witch onto the field in Attack Mode!"

Two female Ghostrick monsters appear. The first one is an adorable black cat girl wearing a peach and black kimono/dress combo. (400 ATK) The second one is a spitting image of Serena: a girl with blond hair in a witch's outfit decorated with magenta ribbons (1200 ATK)

" _Time for some fun, nya~"_ Ghostrick Nekomusume giggles, beckoning toward Rebecca's Artifact monsters.

"Indeed it is, Nekomusume," says Serena. "With Ghostrick Witch on the field, she can turn one face-up monster into face-down position. Ghostrick Witch, go after Tethys!"

" _You got it, Satoshi!"_ says Ghostrick Witch (all while Serena groans). _"I'll put a spell on you~"_

The witch flies toward Tethys on her broom and trips Tethys over, transforming her into a face-down card.

"And I can't let you have a 2400 Beatstick that lets you draw extra cards," says Serena, wagging a finger. "So I'll play Nobleman of Crossout to banish her from the duel!"

A Spell Card, depicting a blond knight in armor, appears. Then, the Nobleman emerges and throws his sword at Rebecca's face-down monster, destroying it.

"I'll be getting the last laugh soon enough," says Rebecca. "I activate Ceasefire!"

"NO!" Serena screams, seeing Rebecca's Trap Card flip up. "I'm gonna lose 500 lifepoints for every effect monster on the field...and ALL of our monsters have effects!"

"That's the idea!" Rebecca laughs while watching Ghostrick Yeti reveal itself, scratching its head in confusion. "So do the math: 500 lifepoints and six monsters equals…"

The Trap Card transforms into a ball of light that charges past Serena's Ghostrick Monsters and strikes her Duel Disk.

 **(Serena: 3500) - - - - - - - (Rebecca: 4800)**

"And I'm not done," Rebecca giggles. "I'll activate my Double Cyclone Spell Card so that I can destroy one Spell Card from both of our fields."

A red cyclone destroys Serena's face-down card (Call of the Haunted) while a yellow cyclone destroys Rebecca's facedown card, before revealing a sword similar to Artifact Beagalltach in the hands of a blue warrior. (2100 ATK)

"Meet Beagalltach's brother, Artifact Moralltach!" says Rebecca. "And with Moralltach on the field, I can destroy one face-up card you have. This means that with Premature Burial gone, Ghostrick Mummy will be crying out for his mommy now!"

"I'll Chain my Ghostrick Nekomusume's effect to your Moralltach before that happens!" says Serena. "When a Level 4 or higher monster gets summoned, Nekomusume can place it facedown as long as I have at least one other Ghostrick monster on the field!"

Nekomusume meows and sneaks behind Artifact Moralltach before flipping its card over, but not before Moralltach destroys Premature Burial with a single slash, causing Ghostrick Mummy to scream before he is destroyed.

"I'll end it with two cards facedown," says Serena. She smells the air and sighs. "And we better end this soon-that pizza's almost done!"

"Will do!" says Rebecca, drawing her card. Staring at her eight-card hand, she adds. "I'll start by playing my powerful Lightning Vortex Spell Card!"

"Oooh, smart move!" Haruka notes. "With Ceasefire placing all of Serena's monsters face-up, Lightning Vortex will incinerate them all!"

"That's the plan!" Rebecca giggles, discarding a card to the graveyard. "Say bye-bye, everyone!"

The Ghostrick Monsters scream in fear as three lightning bolts strike them down. Serena grunts as she sees her field empty of monsters.

"Next, I'll bring back Artifact Scythe with Monster Reborn…"

The scythe appears once more, the warrior glaring at Serena. (2200 ATK)

"Then, I'll just flip-up Artifact Moralltach face-up once more," Rebecca continues, seeing Artifact Beagalltach's twin appear. "And everyone attacks!"

Serena gulps as two swords, a bow and arrow, a scythe and a lance charge toward her. She quickly looks at her hand and notices one of the cards winking at her, then smiles.

"Not so fast." she says. "Since you just declared a direct attack, I can place Ghostrick Jackfrost face-down and set your Artifact Beagalltach face-down, too."

Rebecca snarls as the Ghostrick monster, an adorable snowman dressed up in cyan snow clothes and a rainbow scarf, waves before being placed facedown. Artifact Beagalltach becomes a facedown monster while Artifact Lancea destroys the monster.

"And because you just destroyed my only Ghostrick monster," says Serena. "I can activate the properties of my face-down card, Ghostrick Break!"

Serena's lone Trap Card flips over, revealing an oblivious Ghostrick Stein being fawned over by Ghostrick Yuki-onna while Ghostrick Yeti is absolutely heartbroken.

"This lets me Special Summon two Ghostrick monsters from my graveyard onto the field face-down as long as they don't have the same name as the Ghostrick monster that got destroyed."

Two face-down cards appear before Serena. Rebecca frowns.

"Artifact Moralltach and Artifact Failnaught," she commands. "Get them!"

The sword slices through Ghostrick Witch while the bow-and-arrow pierces Ghostrick Yuki-onna and subsequently becomes flipped face-down when Yuki-onna hurls a snowball at it. That leaves Artifact Scythe, the wielder smiling in delight as he rushes toward Serena and strikes down, causing the girl to gasp at the attack through her torso.

"Well," says Serena. "I'm not gonna be going down that easily. Since I just took damage, I'll discard Ghostrick Mary to Special Summon another Ghostrick monster from my deck."

"And, let me guess, that's the Ghostrick monster you got back from Ghostrick Alucard's effect?" asks Rebecca. Serena nods her head. "Just checking."

She plays a card facedown as Serena looks at her hand (or lack of it, as Ghostrick Mary was her last card).

 **(Serena: 1300) - - - - - - - (Rebecca: 4800)**

"This is it," says Masato. "Just one draw can change the entire duel."

 _Come on, deck..._ thinks Serena, drawing a card. _Don't fail me now…_

She turns to the card and looks at it with surprise.

 _No way!_ She thinks to herself. _This is Millefeui's card! Okay...let's see how this works._

"I'm playing a new Spell Card that's called **Ghostrick and Treat**!" Serena announces.

A Spell Card appears, depicting Ghostrick Stein and Ghostrick Mummy handing out candy to a few trick-or-treaters.

"What?!" Rebecca exclaims. "I've never seen that card before."

"With this card, I can either have a 'trick' or 'treat'," Serena explains. "I'm gonna go with 'Treat' and banish five 'Ghostrick' cards from my graveyard to give me a new hand."

Five cards are ejected from her graveyard as Serena draws five new cards. She looks at them for a moment before laughing.

"You are going down, Rebecca!" she exclaims as she plays Monster Reborn. "But first, I'll Flip-Summon Ghostrick Warwolf so he can have fun!"

Serena's lone card flips over, revealing a werewolf wearing maroon shorts that lets out a loud howl. (1400 ATK)

"And for every face-down card on the field, you lose 100 lifepoints. It's small, but it's better than nothing."

Ghostrick Warwolf sniffs the air before rushing towards Rebecca's duel disk, slicing it with his claws.

 **(Serena: 1300) - - - - - - - (Rebecca: 4500)**

"Then I'll play Monster Reborn," Serena continues. "And it looks like we're making this a trilogy!"

Rebecca groans as Ghostrick Mummy materializes once more, this time with a hearty laugh. (1500 ATK)

"And to keep this party going, I'm bringing in my second Ghostrick Ghoul and Ghostrick Stein in Attack Mode!"

Appearing next to Ghostrick Mummy is the blue-green ghoul (1100 ATK) and the Frankenstein's monster dressed in maroon (1600 ATK) who all laugh and cheer at being together.

"And here comes an Overlay Summon with Ghostrick Mummy and Ghostrick Warwolf as fuel…"

Both mummy and werewolf leap into the air before another casket materializes and Ghostrick Alucard appears with a frown. (1800 ATK)

" _Again you summon me…"_ he grumbles.

"The duel's ending soon," says Serena. "And now, Ghostrick Ghoul, do your thing!"

Ghostrick Ghoul snickers before he and Ghostrick Stein encircle Ghostrick Alucard, raising his attack score to 4500.

"Alucard has enough attack points to drop Rebecca's down to zero!" Ash exclaims.

"But that's only if Serena can go through Rebecca's monsters and face-down card," Raphael notes. His eyes widen as he sees Serena chuckle. "Unless…"

"I'm bringing us home, everyone!" says Serena. "I play my Field Spell Card, Ghostrick Manor!"

A Field Spell Card, depicting various Ghostrick monsters in an old, dusty manor, appears. Soon, the scenery changes to a similar looking manor, where Ghostrick Ghoul and Stein relax on some of the furniture as Ghostrick Alucard pinches the bridge of his nose.

"It's nice," Rebecca notes. "But you know the rules: you can't attack my face-down monsters…"

"But I can attack you directly if all of your monsters are face-down," Serena finishes. "And this is where my Swords of Concealing Light come into play!"

A Continuous Spell Card depicting three swords made of black light with a skull flashing above them, appears. Soon, similar black swords materialize and strike the ground near Rebecca's feet, turning her Artifact monsters into face-down cards and causing her to tremble in fear.

"And one more thing…" says Serena, taking Ghostrick Mummy into her hand. "By removing an Xyz Material from Ghostrick Alucard, he gets to destroy one set card you control. So that facedown card behind your monsters? Say goodbye to it."

Ghostrick Alucard laughs as he summons a swarm of bats that destroy Rebecca's Mirror Force Trap Card. The vampire then adds another cackle before he rises into the air.

"This was fun," says Serena, waving a good-bye. "But, it's time to end this and feast on delicious pizza! Ghostrick Alucard...attack directly!"

Ghostrick Alucard flies toward Rebecca, past her face-down cards, and fires a blast of dark energy from his cape, causing Rebecca to fly back with a scream and land on her back with a groan.

 **(Serena: 1300) - - - - - - - (Rebecca: 0)**

"And that should give you goosebumps!" Serena laughs. She then approaches a fallen Rebecca and extends a hand out. "Are you okay?"

Rebecca looks up and smiles as she takes Serena's hand. She stands up and dusts herself. "I was more worried about you due to what Hikari said about...you know…"

"Hey," says Serena. "Who does she have in her life aside from her boyfriend? I have you, your brothers, our friends, my mom, the spirits…" she turns and sees various Ghostrick monsters materializing, all of them tossing Ghostrick Alucard into the air and cheering with glee. "Satoshi…" she whispers the name as she looks at her Duel Disk. "And plenty of pizza!"

Rebecca laughs as the two girls hug, causing someone to clap their hands.

"Make up already, you two!" Varon exclaims with a laugh. Raphael lightly hits him in the back of the head and lets out a sigh.

"We are!" Rebecca replies as everyone else laughs. At the same time, Millefeui and another woman (dressed up as Madolche Queen Tiramisu), arrive with two large pizzas.

"Hanako-san!" says Miruko, seeing the Queen. "Is it time already?"

"Yep!" Hanako says with a warm smile, setting a pizza down. "Is everyone ready?"

"We're just about to!" says Serena, pulling out her cellphone. She turns to the Ghostrick monsters and waves at them. "Time for a victory photo!"

The Ghostrick monsters quickly drop Ghostrick Alucard (who grumbles about how rough his fellow monsters are) before crowding around Rebecca and Serena. Serena makes a few motions on her phone before raising it into the air.

"Everyone say…Ghostrick!" says Serena.

"GHOSTRICK!"

With a 'click', a photo is taken as everyone begins to settle down to eat.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Anything wrong, love?"

Seto Kaiba turns to see Jounochi approaching him in his office, the CEO staring at a large computer screen depicting camera footage of various duelists, costumed or not, spending time at the amusement park. The one that he is interested in is the one that depicts Ash Ketchum and his friends eating pizza, some of them quickly going for a glass of water to cool their mouths. Seto lets out a sigh.

"That boy…" he mutters. "What he said about that scepter's been bothering me. The worst part is that I can't find any information about him. It's like he just...appeared out of nowhere."

"That's because he did."

Seto and Jounochi turn to see Yugi approaching them, alongside Atem. The older version of Yugi nods his head as Yugi continues.

"He says he comes from another world, but something about him seems off," Yugi lets out a sigh. "It's not just that creature that's with him, but he's hiding something powerful."

"Powerful, but is it benevolent or malevolent?" asks Seto.

"That, we don't know for sure," says Atem, folding his arms across his chest. "For now, we'll have to keep a closer eye on him, see how he reacts when he duels. But what he said about you and Katsuya dueling disturbs me."

"How so?" asks Jounochi, setting his weapon off to the side.

"Because how does someone from another world know about your ancestors' struggles?" asks Atem. He then turns to an image of the statue with the Bound Scepter of Divinity still held in its grasp. One person tries to pull it out, but it does not budge at all. "Clearly, we'll have to keep a closer look on this one for a while…"

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **Ghostrick and Treat (Spell Card)**

 **Normal Spell**

 **Image:** Ghostrick Stein and Ghostrick Mummy handing out candy to trick-or-treaters

 **Card Description:** During your Main Phase, activate one of these effects

Inflict 100 lifepoints of damage for every 'Ghostrick' card in your graveyard

Banish 'Ghostrick' cards from your graveyard to draw cards equal to the cards banished (max. 6)

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **Serena: Well, we're celebrating the good life now. Pizza, ice cream, good friends and so much more!**

 **Masato: You know what this calls for? A fight! Who's ready to duel me?**

 **Mokuba: I'm willing to take you on! My monsters will melt all of yours in an instant.**

 **Ash: These two are going to go all out, huh?**

 **Haruka: They're always like that, don't worry about it.**

 **Rebecca: This will be exciting! Next time, "Ab Initio Chapter 3: Snow Cloak"**

 **Masato: Let the storm rage on!**

 **Mokuba: Let's rock!**


	4. Snow Cloak

_**When you're the little brother of a CEO, you get a lot of unwanted attention. From people who try to suck up to you by being your 'friend', to a lot of unsavory folk who want to use you as a bargaining chip.**_

 _ **But the strangest unwanted attention I've gotten was from demons. Real live demons that prey on the souls of innocent maidens and children who think these monsters are their "imaginary friends".**_

 _ **You see, back when Seto and I were living under the reign of our abusive step-father, I found myself dreaming that I was in the Underworld. There, I met up with the beings that lived there and, for some very odd reason, they wished to follow me and would do whatever I wanted them to do. I would later find out why they chose me, but at that time I was still skeptical and (sarcastically) asked them to prove their worth by accomplishing one task...**_

 _ **And I guess you can expect what I asked them to do, huh?**_

 _ **I have never told Seto about that incident. Would he believe me? I mean, he used to believe in magic until Gozaburo drilled it into his head that it doesn't exist; what is he going to think when he sees that his younger brother controls the monsters who rule Hell? I shudder at the thought.**_

 _ **Right now, I'm about to engage in friendly competition alongside them, and if there's something that these monsters love, it's a fight.**_

 _ **Well then...Let's ROCK!**_

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **3rd Draw**

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **Snow Cloak**

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

" _Advice is like snow - the softer it falls the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind."_

 _-Samuel Taylor Coleridge_

"Who wishes to have their fortune told?"

This comes from a fortune teller dressed as Lady of Faith, currently shuffling a deck of cards in her hands. The fortune teller sits in a tent lit by electric candles that give an ominous glow. On the table in front of her is a silk bag filled with runes, a crystal ball, and a few coins marked with a strange eye symbol. The fortune teller smiles as someone lifts the flap of the tent open.

"Ah, good day to you all," she says in a British accent. "Sit down, sit down...the Lady of Faith loves guests."

"Hello there," says Masato, seating himself down on a beanbag chair. Mokuba and Haruka also sat in-between Masato as the young boy asks, "How are you doing today?"

"Fine, love," The Lady of Faith replies she sets her cards down. "So, who wishes to have a fortune told?"

"I do!" says Mokuba, watching as the Lady of Faith fans the cards out. The back of the cards are black with a strange golden eye in the center, almost as if observing the curious person who wants their fortune told. "What do you have in store?"

"What is it that you wish to see?" The Lady of Faith motions to the cards on the table. "Draw your card, and let me see what the Fates have foretold."

Mokuba nods his head as he waves his hand over the cards, trying to find the one that appeals to him the most. Masato and Haruka stay quiet as he lowers his hand to pick a card in the middle. The Lady of Faith points to it, and Mokuba nods his head.

"Very well then," says the fortune teller. "Let's see what the cards have in store for us."

She pulls the card out then flips it over. It shows a wise king with a long white beard sitting on a throne. He is dressed in a red tunic and a golden crown is on his head. The card is upside-down causing the Lady of Faith to gasp.

"Oh my!" she exclaims. "I see some sort of authority over-shadowing you. This is very troublesome."

"It is?" Mokuba asks, taking a glance at Haruka. Haruka narrows her eyes as she looks at her Duel Disk, where the lifepoint counter and deck holder is shaped like a wheel with eight spokes, before looking at the fortune teller. "How so?"

"It seems you lack ambition for the important things in your life," says the Lady of Faith. "This is quite sad, considering someone of your...position."

Mokuba frowns and curls his hands into fists.

"Is that so?" he says. He snarls and lowers his head as he adds, "Well, thank you for your reading today, Lady of Faith." He stands up, face calm as he tells his friends, "Come on, you two. We're going."

"Mokuba!" Masato exclaims, following his friend out of the tent. "Wait for me!"

As the two boys leave, Haruka watches the Lady of Faith gather the cards once again, stacking them into a neat pile before folding her hands out in front. Then, she speaks.

"Ryou-sempai," she begins. "Please don't tease him like that; you know the troubles Mokuba has to go through. You know how much blood he's spilled because of those monsters..."

The fortune-teller, Ryou Wataru, smiles sweetly at Haruka, causing the girl to glare while he leans forward.

"It's what the cards say though," Ryou notes with a chuckle. His chocolate eyes show some mischief as he stands up. He then takes Haruka's hand into her own, tracing the lines on her palm with a finger. "I wonder what I can give you…"

"Perhaps I can give a clue," says a deep, husky voice. Haruka flinches as she slowly turns around, gasping at a figure that looks similar to Ryou- what with the same white hair and the dark brown eyes the fortune teller has-but his skin is tan, and there is a scar running down the right side of his face. Dressed in a long red coat lined with gold, the figure chuckles, before flashing a wicked grin. To Haruka, she is reminded of a shark whenever she sees that smile.

"Bakura," Haruka begins, "What are you planning?"

"Nothing of the sorts, milady," Bakura answers, bowing toward Haruka, "But on a day like this, a bit of competition can bring out the best in anyone, am I right?"

Ryou approaches Haruka, silently as the only sound that is heard is the swish of his costume, as he cups her face gently. Haruka still glares.

"I see a battle in your future, too," he says. "But be careful, for the decision you make after the victor is decided will change everything."

"W..what do you mean?" Haruka whispers. But she gets no response as Ryou returns to his cards. "And what about you, Ba-"

She turns around and Bakura has vanished into thin air. She doesn't seem too surprised though; Bakura is always like this around her. Ryou chuckles.

"Take care of yourself, dear seer," he says with a wave of his hand. "We'll see each other tomorrow, correct?"

"...Yeah, we will," is what Haruka says as she leaves the tent. As she does, Ryou frowns as he pulls a top card from the newly shuffled deck. In front of him is a wheel with three strange creatures riding on its rim, the card upright.

"Wheel of Fortune, hmm?" he says. "Very interesting…"

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

After the food challenge (which they succeeded in), the group have split into two parties: Rebecca and her brothers are off to venture in an Escape Room challenge, and Ash and Serena with Masato, Mokuba and Haruka are exploring some of the carnival booths. Pikachu is currently on Ash's shoulder, as usual, while Serena and Ash wait for their friends to arrive at a shooting gallery, having made an excuse to "see into the future" before meeting up at this particular spot.

"So," says Ash, seeing Mokuba and Masato approaching him. "How did the fortune-telling go?"

"...Fine," Mokuba answers curtly, pulling out some money from a pouch attached to his costume. He places it on the counter then picks up a gun. "Just fine."

Without flinching, he fires the gun toward the target, a plushie of Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss and keeps firing a round of corks until, after thirty seconds of this, it tips over to the side, the doll giving a small smile as a klaxon of bells ring. The booth owner goes to pick up the doll as Mokuba set the gun down and Serena places a hand on Mokuba's shoulder.

"What card did you get?" she asks. "I mean, as long as it's not Death or anything, then it should be fine."

"He got an inverted Emperor," says Haruka, approaching them. Having removed the veil a while back to make it easier to speak, she lets out a sigh as she adds, "Which is about lack of ambition."

"Why would he have that?" asks Ash, watching Mokuba take the doll of Dante into his hands, "I mean, he's the younger brother of Seto Kaiba, after all."

"Well…" Masato begins, but he's stopped as Mokuba slams his hand on the counter, hand on his forehead. "Oh no…"

Mokuba pants heavily as he stares at the doll, the hand gripping on it tightening before he tosses it to the ground. Haruka hastily picks up the doll while Masato chases after Mokuba. Ash looks in confusion, so does Pikachu.

"What's that all about?" he asks, turning to the two girls. Both Haruka and Serena share a glance before Serena looks at Ash. She gently squeezes the Dante plushie as she says,

"Let's take this somewhere quiet. This is...sort of private."

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Mokuba, wait up!"

Mokuba has approached an area targeted for duelists, seeing various people in costumes (like a Zombyra the Dark fighting a Cybernetic Magician, the former's Elemental Heroes in a battle against the latter's Cyber Dragons) as he looks at his Duel Disk, colored black and red. A deep, rumbling voice whispers in his ear.

 _You're not letting a simple card tell you who you are, am I right? How dare that fortune-teller tempt your mind like that, Master!_

"Shut up, Malacoda," Mokuba mutters. He groans as he hears Masato approaching him.

"What's going on?" asks Masato, seeing Mokuba turn toward him. "Is it...them?"

"...Yeah," Mokuba answers. "They get antsy if I don't do anything." He folds his arms over his chest and sighs.

"The card's words can be interpreted differently; you've seen my sister and how she uses her deck. I mean, why are you upset about _this_ reading?"

"I think...I think it's because of what Ash did when Seto tried to pull the scepter out. Whatever he said...I don't know, but I'm worried."

Masato hesitates before smiling. "Hey, let's do what Serena and Rebecca did-a duel will keep your mind off of the reading. And besides," he smirks. "I bet you my new Synchro Monsters will kick Dante's ass."

"Really now?" Mokuba asks with a smirk of his own. "Well, consider that a challenge."

"Come on!" said Masato, pointing to an open dueling field. "Race you there!"

"Hey, wait up! You got a head start!"

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"That's what he's been hiding?!" Ash asks with shock. "And his brother doesn't know about it?"

"Trust us, I don't think Kaiba's a guy who is going to believe that his brother can talk and summon the demons of Hell lightly," Serena notes. The three are sitting on a bench underneath a large tree, Pikachu asleep on Serena's lap. Serena lets out a sigh. "But there's more than just summoning those guys."

"What do you mean?"

"He once said that he can enter the Nightmare Realm," Haruka whispers, still holding Mokuba's Dante plushie in her hands, "A realm that one enters in their sleep, a gateway that can lead one into other worlds…"

"Wait, if Mokuba can do that then…" Ash hesitates. Does he really want to go back home now? After he has seen those visions about Seto and Jounochi? And the scepter? Plus, he hasn't even dueled yet. Despite his hesitation, Serena and Haruka pick it up immediately.

"We don't know if he can send you back to where you came from," Serena begins. "And even if he could, maybe he'd accidentally send you to another world. Worse, you could be constantly wandering the Nightmare Realm and never go back home."

Ash falls silent as he contemplates Serena's words. Of course, entering a world is easy but escaping it is a different story. He runs a hand over Pikachu's fur, the Mouse Pokémon slowly waking up from his nap to stare at his friend with bleary black eyes.

"I see," he whispers. "Well, at least we tried."

"Come on," says Serena, helping Ash stand up, "Let's go find Mokuba and Masato. Knowing those two, they're probably about to duel each other."

"What type of monsters do they use?" asks Ash.

"You'll see," says Haruka. "But, just like Serena, they're dressed as one of the monsters in their respective archetypes."

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Are you ready Mokuba?" asks Masato. His Duel Disk, with the deck holder colored cyan and designed to look like two sets of hexagons, the outer ring having points to make it look similar to a snowflake, activates. "If you are, then let the storm rage on!"

"This party's gonna get crazy" says Mokuba, his own Duel Disk activating. "Let's rock!"

 **(Masato: 8000) - - - - - - - (Mokuba: 8000)**

"I'll start off," says Masato, drawing a card. "For my first move, I'll play Shard of Greed."

A Continuous Spell Card appears, depicting a shard of the Pot of Greed (specifically the part that shows one of its eyes) with magic rising out of it.

"Now whenever I make a draw during my Draw Phase, I get a Greed Counter," Masato explains. "And next, I'll summon Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier in Attack Mode!"

Someone rises onto Masato's side of the field in a geyser of ice. It is a young girl with long white hair with a simple gold circlet as decoration, wearing a red blouse and blue pants. Draped on her shoulder is a red cape with a white feathery collar. In her hands is a staff. (1200 ATK)

"And I'm not done!" Masato continues. "I'll play Double Summon so I can summon another Ice Barrier monster-my Defender of the Ice Barrier in Attack Mode!"

In a second burst of ice, a red fox in blue battle armor emerges. The most notable part of the armor is the series of spikes trailing down its bushy tail. (200 ATK)

"And since Defender of the Ice Barrier is a Tuner Monster, I'll enact a Synchro Summon with him and my Spellbreaker right now!" says Masato. "You ready?"

 _Ready as I'll ever be against whatever you're summoning..._ Mokuba thinks to himself.

Defender of the Ice Barrier howls as he fades into a set of rings. Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier winks before transforming into a cluster of stars that fly through the rings, the two fading into a bright light.

 **(*3 + *4 = *7)**

" _A mighty force emerging from the icy depths,"_ Masato chanted. " _A monster that will never fail to strike its target. Come forth, Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!"_

A bolt of lightning strikes the field as a dragon, looking as if it is carved from blue ice, emerges. Underneath its body, one can see a red glow that spreads throughout, giving the look of a flame trapped beneath ice itself. (2500 ATK)

"Oh boy…" Mokuba notes.

"Since it's only the first turn, I won't be able to use its effect," Masato chuckles. "But I will send one card face-down and end it at that. You're up!"

 _Keep it together, Mokuba..._ Mokuba thinks to himself, drawing a card. _That monster's tough, but it doesn't hold dominion over the graveyard. Let's see what I can do._

"For my move," Mokuba begins, I'll be activating the special abilities of my Burning Abyss monsters; whenever I have no Spell or Trap cards on the field, I can Special Summon them from my hand. So for this, I'll be Special Summoning both Cir, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss and Graff, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss in Attack Mode!"

In contrast to Masato's Ice Barrier Monsters, Mokuba's monsters arise in plumes of fire. Cir is a purple-black demon with the face of a pig (1600 ATK) while Graff is a demonic hell hound with large wings and a spiked collar that let out a loud howl as he stares at Masato's Gungnir with glee (1000 ATK).

"And I still have a Normal Summon to use," Mokuba continues. "So I'll use it to summon Alich, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss in Attack Mode."

There is laughter as a winged figure emerges from the ground: dressed in black armor, having a head of white hair and his eyes covered by a white blindfold. The Burning Abyss smirks as a plume of black-blue fire emerges from his palm. (1200 ATK)

"I'll end it with one card face-down," says Mokuba, slipping a card into his Duel Disk. "And that's it."

"Hey, there you guys are!" Serena shouts, approaching the duel.

"Hi guys!" says Masato, waving to his sister before drawing a card. "I'm just about to use my Gungnir to destroy Mokuba's monsters."

"That's a bad idea!" says Haruka. "You know what happens when Burning Abyss monsters get sent to the Graveyard."

"What happens?" asks Ash, Pikachu back on his shoulder.

"Burning Abyss monsters have two effects," Serena explains. "They can be Special Summoned onto the field if you have no Spell or Trap cards on the field, and each one of them has various effects if they're sent to the Graveyard. So you could have a monster that negates effects, or banishes them, or you could Special Summon another Burning Abyss monster from the Graveyard or Deck, the list goes on and on." Ash looks confused as Serena sighs. "Just watch the duel and you'll see."

"First off," Masato begins. "Since I conducted my Draw Phase, Shard of Greed gets a Greed Counter."

The Shard of Greed Spell Card begins to glow as a small green orb hovers over it. (GC: 1)

"Next, I'll play Salvage," Masato continues. "And with that, I can bring back two Water monsters with less than 1500 Attack Points from my Graveyard back into my hand."

A Spell Card appears, depicting an orca whale dredging up a machine from the ocean. Two cards pop out from Masato's Graveyard, expanding his hand to three.

"And to make sure you don't get any ideas…" Masato shows Defender of the Ice Barrier before placing it on his Duel Disk, the fox appearing on the Field once again. (1600 DEF)

"I have an idea, and you're not gonna like it…" says Mokuba. "I activate my Trap Card, Fire Lake of the Burning Abyss!"

Mokuba's face-down card flips over, revealing two members of the Burning Abyss Monsters (Alich and Calcab) in a pool of lava. Then, a large lava pool materializes and drags both Cir and Graffe into the fiery depths.

"What did you just do?" asks Masato. Mokuba chuckles.

"If I send two of my 'Burning Abyss' monsters into the Graveyard, I can destroy up to three cards on the field," Mokuba answers. "So, I think I'll be destroying Defender of the Ice Barrier and my Alich."

"Huh?!" asks Ash, noticing Gungnir. "He's not going to destroy Masato's dragon with that card?"

"I have something better in mind," Mokuba replies. "So now, it's time for an offering for these demons."

The Fire Lake begins to overflow as lava burns both cards on the field, the two monsters unleashing howls of pain as they are sent to the Graveyard. Meanwhile, Mokuba's Graveyard begins to glow all while Masato cringes.

"With three Burning Abyss monsters in the Graveyard, I can activate their effects," says Mokuba. "First off, Alich can negate the special ability of your Gungnir…"

Alich's ghostly form materializes as he hurls his black-blue fire at Gungnir, causing it to groan.

"And I'll use Graff's special ability to Special Summon a 'Burning Abyss' monster from my deck onto the field…like Barbar here."

With a laugh, a viking with a white beard and a horned helmet (one horn being broken) emerges. In his hands is a mace connected to a large chain. (1700 ATK)

A card ejects itself from his deck as Mokuba takes it into his hand. Meanwhile, Graff, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss emerges in Defense Mode. (1500 DEF)

"Oh and one more thing," says Mokuba. "When Cir's in the Graveyard, I can Special Summon another 'Burning Abyss' monster from the graveyard, as long as it's not Cir himself. So, you'll have no choice but to attack either him or Barbar before you get to my lifepoints."

"Fine," says Masato. "Gungnir, attack Cir with Odon Blizzard!"

Gungnir opens his mouth and unleashes an icy blizzard that causes Cir to howl before shattering. Mokuba lets out a sigh.

"You know," he begins. "Contrary to belief, Hell has a circle that's nothing but ice. That's the 9th Floor, made specifically for those who committed treachery. Examples include Cain, Judas and, the most important of them all, Satan. My Burning Abyss monsters are based on the 8th circle, and the Fire Lake represented how these demons would dunk corrupt politicians in boiling pitch."

 _And I hope that son of a bitch likes his extended vacation there._ He thinks to himself.

"Um...wow, I didn't know that," says Masato. "I guess I'll end my turn there. Your move."

"Huh?" says Ash. "Why doesn't Mokuba use Cir's effect since he was sent to the Graveyard?"

"It can only be done once per turn," Haruka answers.

"Oh…"

"My move," says Mokuba, drawing his card. "And I'll start my move by playing Graceful Charity."

"Smart," Serena whispers. "He draws three cards but discards two- that way he can activate the effects of the Burning Abyss monsters he discarded."

An angel in a green dress and matching green wings materializes in front of Mokuba while he draws three cards. After looking at them, he sends two to the Graveyard.

"And before you ask," Mokuba begins. "The Burning Abyss monsters I discarded are Farfa and Scarm."

"Oh that's not good!" Masato exclaims. "That means Farfa will make you banish Gungnir until your end phase!"

"Exactly!"

A spectral version of Farfa, a demon with a metallic face and horns, alongside wings for arms and long white hair that fall to his ankles, flies toward Gungnir, the dragon letting out a roar as they become sucked into a vortex and vanish. Masato gulps as Mokuba grins.

"Next, I'll Normal Summon Rubic, Malebranche of Burning Abyss in Defense Mode."

The ground begins to rumble as a purple skinned demon in a black cloak emerges, wielding a gnarled wooden staff and a purple flame hovering in his right hand. (2100 DEF)

"You're not the only one who can Synchro Summon, Masato," says Mokuba. "With Rubic as a Tuner Monster, I'm gonna summon a star in the Burning Abyss! Let's go, you two!"

Rubic and Barbar leap into the air, Rubic turning into rings of light while Barbar transforms into three stars.

 **(*3 + *3 = *6)**

" _A guide to the Underworld, he is the one who helps those who have lost their way in the land of demons. Here he is now, the nightmare troubadour himself...Virgil, Rock Star of the Burning Abyss!"_

A bard with red hair emerges, dressed in a white tunic, purple striped pants and a white hat wrapped with a red sash and a large white feather sticking out. In his hands is a lute gilded with gold and blue flames emerging from the soundboard and frets. He plucks a tune before bowing toward Masato, tipping his hat toward the boy. (2500 ATK)

"And without anything to stop his attack…" Mokuba laughs. "Virgil, attack with Melodious Nocturne!"

Virgil strums a few notes on his lute before pointing it toward Masato, unleashing a burst of blue fire that Masato blocks with his Duel Disk.

 **(Masato: 5500) - - - - - - - (Mokuba: 8000)**

"And I'm off to my second Main Phase," says Mokuba. "Since Barbar was used for a Synchro Summon and is now back in my Graveyard, I can activate his effect to Banish up to 3 'Burning Abyss' cards in my Graveyard and inflict 300 lifepoints for each card. Barbar…"

Barbar lets out a mighty laugh from beyond the grave as three fireballs target Masato, the boy cringing from how hot the flames are (okay, they aren't _that_ hot, but it feels like it).

 **(Masato: 4600) - - - - - - - (Mokuba: 8000)**

"I'll just set one more card face-down…" Mokuba slips a card behind Virgil. "And that'll be it. Which means Scarm's effect lets me take a 'Burning Abyss' monster from my deck to hand."

A card pops out of his deck, which Mokuba takes.

"And you get your dragon back."

Gungnir roars as it rises from a large ice crystal, flying toward Masato's side. (2500 ATK)

"Then it's my turn," says Masato, drawing his card. "And now, my Shard of Greed has two Greed Counters, thus I can sacrifice it to make two more draws!"

Shard of Greed shatters as Masato expands his hand to five cards.

"And next, I'll play Samurai of the Ice Barrier in Attack Mode!"

A pillar of ice rises next to Gungnir's side, revealing a samurai in icy blue armor. The samurai opens his eyes and slices the ice that imprisons him before staring at Mokuba. (1800 ATK)

"I'll activate Gungnir's effect now," says Masato, discarding Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier into his Graveyard. "Once per turn, I can discard up to two cards in my hand and destroy as many cards as you control. Guess what happens to Virgil now?"

Virgil steps back as Gungnir grins. The dragon opens its mouth and encases Virgil in a flurry of snow before smashing it with its mighty tail. Mokuba gulps as he finds himself defenseless against the samurai and the dragon.

"All righty then," says Masato. "Gungnir, Odin Blizzard!"

Gungnir opens its mouth and fires a powerful blizzard attack, causing Mokuba to slightly shiver.

 **(Masato: 4600) - - - - - - - (Mokuba: 5500)**

"I'm not done! Samurai of the Ice Barrier, attack with Sub-zero Sword Slash!"

Samurai of the Ice Barrier rushes toward Mokuba, unsheathing his sword as he inches closer and closer.

"Not so fast!" Mokuba exclaims. "I activate my Trap Card, Karma Cut!"

The Trap Card flips over, revealing Warrior Lady of the Wasteland emerging from a portal, with her left arm covered by a metal gauntlet. Mokuba slips a card into the Graveyard as Samurai of the Ice Barrier vanishes alongside the card.

"What did you just do?!" Masato exclaims.

"When I play Karma Cut, I can discard one card from my hand to banish your Samurai," Mokuba explains. "Plus, if you have any other copies of this monster, they go too."

Masato groans as another Samurai of the Ice Barrier from his deck pops out. He pockets it as Mokuba pulls out his deck.

"Oh, and the card I sent to the graveyard?" The Burning Abyss duelist continues. "That was Draghig, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss. When he gets sent to the Graveyard, I can take one 'Burning Abyss' card from my deck and place it on top." He searches through the cards, finds the one he wants, places it on top, and then slips the deck back in. "So thanks for that."

"...I end my turn with a face-down card," says Masato. "You're up."

"Man," Ash notes. "Mokuba's deck is more complicated than Rebecca's. How the heck does he manage that?"

"It's just something you learn," Haruka answers with a shrug of her shoulders. "Mokuba has the most experience with dueling, which makes sense considering who his brother is."

"You know, speaking of Seto Kaiba…" Haruka trails off as she looks down at the Dante plushie. "Sometimes, I think there's something more to him than he's showing."

"You mean beside his romance with Jounochi?" asks Serena.

"I mean he's hiding some strange...power…." Haruka trails off as Mokuba has played Card of Demise, drawing until he had five more cards.

"...And, as you know, I must discard my hand after 5 Standby Phases," he says. "But until then, I summon Crane Crane in Attack Mode!"

A strange machine appears on the field-it is a mechanical crane that looks like the avian crane. (300 ATK)

"Um...what does that do exactly?" asks Masato, watching the Crane lowering its hook into a black portal that has materialized on the field.

"When Crane Crane is on the field, I can Special Summon a Level 3 Monster from the Graveyard without its effect," Mokuba explains.

"Smart…" says Serena. "Burning Abyss monsters get destroyed if there are monsters other than those of the Burning Abyss on Mokuba's field. What's he gonna go through this? Dante?"

"Who knows?" asks Haruka, watching as Crane Crane pulls out Farfa, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from the Graveyard. "But I bet it's gonna be big."

"And with these two monsters, I'll play my Ritual Spell Card Good & Evil in the Burning Abyss to sacrifice them for the Lord of the Burning Abyss himself!"

"Oh yeah... _big_." Serena comments.

A Spell Card depicting the image of Dante in the background of clouds (on the left) and a black demonic face (on the right) appears before Crane Crane and Farfa become devoured by the shadows.

"With these two, I summon Malacoda, Netherlord of the Burning Abyss in Attack Mode!" Mokuba exclaims.

A plume of black fire erupts as a figure emerges: it can be nothing else than a demon, with red skin dressed in blue battle armor, large black and purple demonic wings, and a tail that also doubles as a serpent. Masato can only gulp as Malacoda smirks. (2700 ATK)

" _So…"_ Malacoda growls as he turns to Mokuba. " _It appears we are going to have some fresh meat today…"_

Mokuba smirks. "Let's have some fun…" he says, flipping one of the cards in his hand to reveal Cir, Malechante of the Burning Abyss.

"Um...what are you doing?" asks Masato.

"I'm activating Malacoda's special ability," Mokuba answers. "I discard one 'Burning Abyss' monster from my hand and Malacoda can decrease Gungnir's Attack and Defense equal to Cir's own. So…"

Cir's spirit materializes before Malacoda grasps it. The spirit transforms into a black ball of fire that the Netherlord hurls at the Ice Barrier Dragon, weakening it. (2500/1700 - 900/500)

"And with Cir in the Graveyard…"

The image of Barbar emerges next to Malacoda, swinging his mace above his head with glee. (1700 ATK)

"Malacoda, attack Gungnir with Infernal Hellfire!"

" _As you command."_ says Malacoda, creating a large ball of black fire, hurling it at Gungnir's chest, causing the dragon to slowly melt with a roar of pain.

 **(Masato: 2800) - - - - - - - (Mokuba: 5500)**

"And Barbac," says Mokuba, pointing to Masato. "Attack directly with Hell Barbaric Mace Swing!"

Barbac rushes toward Masato, swinging his mace widely as Masato smirks.

"I activate Call of the Haunted!" he says. "And I'll use it to Special Summon Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier in Defense Mode!"

The white haired, red dressed Ice Barrier monster appears, kneeling in defense. (2000 DEF) Barbac stops just before his mace touches Spellbreaker and he snarls before walking off.

"I'll end my turn with a card face-down," says Mokuba. "But you better get something good before Malacoda burns you and your monsters."

"How about this?" asks Masato, drawing his card. "I play Card of Sanctity!"

Coins fell down from the sky as both duelists draw more cards (Masato draws four more while Mokuba draws five). Masato fans his cards out…

Then, he laughs.

"What's so funny?" asks Mokuba. Masato shows three cards and flips them over before sending a card into his Duel Disk.

"I activate Magic Triangle of Ice Barrier," he answers. "By revealing three Ice Barrier monsters in my hand, I can destroy one card you control…"

Masato's Spell Card, depicting General Gantala, General Grunard and General Raiho of the Ice Barrier standing in a triangle formation in front of a magic seal while a blizzard starts forming. Soon, an icy wind begins to form around Malacoda before a large chunk of ice pierces through his heart.

"Not so fast," Mokuba states. "When Malacoda is sent to the Graveyard, he gets to send one card you control to the Graveyard. So, I hate to say this Spellbreaker...actually, I don't hate to say that you're off to the Graveyard again."

With the last of his power, Malacoda incinerates Masato's Call of the Haunted, causing Spellbreaker to scream before she is sent to the Graveyard.

"A small price to pay," Masato shrugs his shoulders as he places an Ice Barrier card on the Duel Disk. "Because now I can Special Summon my General Grunard onto the field without sacrifice!"

Rising from the ground is a ice sculpture of an imposing figure, before the ice shatters and a warrior dressed in sapphire armor that resembles ice with a spiky crown on his head and the emblem of the Ice Barrier monsters on his chest. Surrounding him is six icicles. (2800 ATK)

"And you know how Serena's Ghostrick Mummy lets her summon another 'Ghostrick' monster on the field?" says Masato. "Well, General Grunard can do that with my 'Ice Barrier' cards. So I'll be summoning both Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier…"

A warrior wearing a helmet and purple tunic materializes, wielding two hand-scythes made of ice. (1300 ATK)

"And Pilgrim of the Ice Barrier…"

Rising in a lotus position is a blond haired Ice Barirer monster, dressed in red silk robes lined with gold. His eyes are closed in concentration. (1500 ATK)

"And then I'll Synchro Summon them both to bring out my next Dragon of the Ice Barrier!"

Cryomancer and Pilgrim of the Ice Barrier leap into the air as a roar begins to shake the field.

 **(*2 + *4 = *6)**

" _A dragon that pierces through the heart of the enemy. Who brings order with her icy breath and fear into the heart of her enemies. Appear right now, Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!"_

Emerging from a freezing blue and white portal is a blue serpentine dragon with wings at a ten feet wingspan and claws ready to slice the Burning Abyss monsters into bits of demonic flesh. She lets out a low growl at Barbar. (2300 ATK)

"You know," Mokuba notes. "It's pretty annoying that they call Brionac a Dragon even though she's a Sea-Serpent on the card."

"She's not complaining," says Masato. "And you better not complain when I activate her ability.

"You see once per turn, I can discard cards from my hand to the Graveyard and select any card you control that I can return to your hand." Masato shows a card and slips it into the Graveyard slot. "So, I think that your monster needs a break, don't you think."

Brionac flaps her mighty wings as Barbar is thrown back into Mokuba's hand.

"General Grunard and Brionac, attack directly!" says Masato!

The high-leveled warrior and sea-serpent create orbs of icy-blue energy that they hurl toward Mokuba.

"I activate my face-down card, Sakuretsu Armor!" he shouts. "Now your general is retiring in the Graveyard!"

General Grunard shatters into pieces while Brionac successfully fires her attack, causing Mokuba to fly back a few inches and land on his back.

 **(Masato: 2800) - - - - - - - (Mokuba: 3200)**

"Mokuba!" Ash exclaims. "Are you all right?"

"I've gone through worse," Mokuba mutters, slowly standing up. "Besides, I've got this in the bag."

Masato places his last card into his Duel Disk then signals the end of his turn as Mokuba draws his card.

"So, Masato, you've seen the Rock Star and Netherlord," he begins. "And I'm the Traveler of the Burning Abyss, as you can tell…

"But now, I'm going to reveal Dante's true form! I activate The Terminus of the Burning Abyss!"

The Spell Card materializes, depicting a woman in purple clothing standing in front of a portal of heaven, while someone (perhaps Dante) in white and gold robes, tries to reach out to them. Mokuba then takes three cards from his hand then slips them into his Graveyard.

"This lets me Fusion Summon a 'Burning Abyss' monster by discarding the Fusion Material needed for it," Mokuba explains. "So, I'll be discarding my Calcab, Graff and Cir to unleash _Dante, Pilgrim of the Burning Abyss_ in Attack Mode!"

A figure in white emerges from the card, wielding a caduceus with a blue gem in the center. It looks like an older Dante, with a laurel wreath topping his braided blue hair, and his body adorned in a white and golden robe and cape. His eyes show wisdom, and perhaps understanding of things that most are unable to comprehend. (2900 ATK)

"And you just sent _three_ of your Burning Abyss monsters to the Graveyard to summon it…" Masato trails off, knowing exactly where this was going. "Oh cupcakes…"

"First is Calcab," Mokuba begins. "Which makes you return that face-down card into your hand..."

A purple skinned demon wearing a loincloth flaps his mighty wings as Masato's card (Torrential Tribute) is back in his hand once more.

"Next is another copy of Graff that lets me Special Summon another 'Burning Abyss' monster from my deck like, I don't know, Cagna, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss…"

A black gargoyle-like demon emerges from the shadow, crouching down and letting out a low growl. (1500 ATK)

"And Cir lets me bring back a 'Burning Abyss' monster from the Graveyard once more. So, let's try this out Farfa!"

The long white-haired Burning Abyss monster emerges with a cackle as Masato gulps, his only defense being his Sea-Serpent/Dragon.

"Looks like this is over," Mokuba chuckles. "But, the fact that you got to bring out two Synchro Summons is saying something. Ah well.."

"Dante, attack Brionic with Paradisio Pummel!"

Dante rises into the air before diving straight toward Masato's dragon, bashing her on the head with his weapon.

 **(Masato: 2300) - - - - - - - (Mokuba: 3200)**

"Cagna and Falfa, end this now!"

Masato soon finds Cagna slicing him from behind while Farfa unleashes a screech attack that causes Masato to fall to his knees, taking the last of his lifepoints with him.

 **(Masato: 0) - - - - - - - (Mokuba: 3200)**

"Well, that was fun," says Mokuba with a sigh. "And, you know what? I feel much better after that. Thanks, Masato."

"No prob," says Masato. "It sucks that all of my better cards were at the bottom of my deck. Next time, I'll make sure to give you a better fight."

He and Mokuba shake hands as Rebecca and her brothers approach the dueling courts, a ribbon pinned to Rebecca's chest.

"Aww, we missed an epic duel, didn't we?" she pouts. "Oh well, we can have another one tomorrow if we want to."

"So," says Amelda, looking at the large group. "What do we do now?"

"How about going on the carnival rides?" Miruko suggests. "Rollercoasters, Ferris Wheel, maybe a merry-go-round…"

"Well…" Amelda smiles as he turns to Varon. "Maybe a merry-go-round would be nice."

"And maybe we can go win some more prizes!" says Haruka, slipping the plushie into a bag. "What do you wanna do, Ash?"

"I'll just do whatever you want to do," Ash answers with a shrug of his shoulders. "As long as it doesn't involve that scepter and all.."

"What was that?" asked Raphael, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing, nothing…" Ash hastily answers, staring at his Duel Disk. "Just thinking and all.."

"Relax, kid," says Varon, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What can go wrong on a day like this?"

 _Don't jinx it..._ Haruka thinks to herself, recalling Ryou's prediction. _We have no idea what's going to happen next._

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Say, Bakura?"

"Yes, my love?"

"About that boy that's with them…" Ryou stays silent as he stares at the upright Wheel of Fortune in front of him. "Have you sensed anything unusual about him?"

"He's basically a normal ten-year-old boy, excited, friendly, outgoing...and he possess a strange aura around him," Bakura answers, closing his eyes as he sits down near his partner. "But if what Atem and Seto have been saying is true...then he's going to be the center of everything once he faces his destiny.

"All we need to do is hope that he'll accept it."

"He will," Ryou whispers, shuffling the card back into his deck. "Because we have no other options."

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **Haruka: Okay, so it looks like I'm the only one in our little group who hasn't dueled yet, huh?**

 **Mokuba: Cheer up. I'm sure you'll get to use your monsters soon enough.**

 **Ash: I've had it with this bad feeling about that scepter! Haruka, I want to duel for the right to pull it out!**

 **Serena: Really? Man, you're either courageous or a fool to do something like that!**

 **Masato: Perhaps both?**

 **Ash: Next time, Ab Initio Chapter 4: "Aura Break"**

 **Haruka: Then it looks like Fate is going to shine upon us then. Very well, Ash Ketchum. I accept your challenge!**


	5. Aura Break

_**Tarot and Duel Monsters are sort of the same thing in a sense.**_

 _ **You draw cards in both of them, and you don't know what you're going to get until they're drawn. Each card has a meaning (except Tarot lets you have the cards upside-down) and everything can change depending on whether or not you get a good or bad draw.**_

 _ **But the thing is that just because you get these cards, it doesn't automatically tell you what exactly is going to happen. Instead, it's up to you to decide what to make with what could be the keys to your future-whether it's to avert it or to make it happen.**_

 _ **So here, I'm about to duel someone who is out to find his destiny. Whether or not it's going to be of any good, I'll just have to wait and see…**_

 _ **Until then, it's time to duel.**_

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **4th Draw**

 **0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **Aura Break**

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

" _Adversity causes men to break; others to break records."_

 _-William Arthur Ward_

It's already 2 in the afternoon when Ash and his new group of friends find themselves in front of the Bound Scepter of Destiny once more. No one is dueling in front of it for the moment, but the energy from Seto and Jounochi's duel is still there, ready to possess anyone who wants to try to succeed where Seto Kaiba failed. Ash looks at the Duel Disk on his left arm before looking at the scepter once more.

"What's up, Ash?" asks Serena, noticing the Pokémon trainer not moving. She sighs. "Don't tell me _you_ want a go at the scepter?"

"Well, yeah…" Ash begins. "But something about what I saw when Seto was about to pull the staff. It's like...it was like this happened before."

"Because it did," says Mokuba. "Seto and Jounochi dueled here about a year ago, and it ended the same way. However…"

"However?" asks everyone else. Mokuba sighs as he stares at the statue's eyes.

"Everything changed when Seto decided to humor Jounochi and take the scepter out of the statue's hand...:"

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

" _You have to be careful with that!" says Jounochi, seeing the cocky CEO approach the scepter. "That thing's sacred and all!"_

" _Please," Seto snorts with a roll of his eyes. "You know all of that is complete-"_

 _He never gets to finish the sentence, for the second his hand touches the staff, he is thrown back by a blast of red magic. Both Jounochi and Mokuba look in horror as Seto drops to his knees, both hands on his head._

" _SETO!" Both cry out as the brunette CEO starts gasping for air, his head on fire and feeling like it's being pricked by hundreds of needles._

" _G...get away!" Seto shouts. "Stop, don't come any closer!"_

 _Sweat falls down his forehead, his heart is pounding like a drum, but still his mind is being tormented by images of long ago…_

 _Images that, for some reason, are so familiar to him._

 _But he could never process them as he collapses to the ground with a soft thud, the last thing he recalls is him saying something before everything fades into darkness._

" _Jouno…" Seto whispers. "I'm...so sorry…"_

 _Then, the great CEO falls unconscious._

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"And ever since then, he's been obsessed with trying to pull that scepter out," Mokuba finishes. "He says that someone was calling out to him, sending him memories from the past to better communicate."

"What types of memories?" asks Masato. Mokuba closes his eyes.

"It's in bits and pieces, but they're all about Seto and Jounochi from thousands of years ago. Sometimes the memories show them riding on dragons, or in bed…" This gets a gasp from the girls. "Or they're fighting one another with weapons…"

"Was one of those memories about Jounochi about to kill Seto with an axe?" Ash interrupts.

Mokuba jumps back in alarm. "Yeah, I think Seto mentioned a memory like that once…Wait a second..." He pauses then leans towards Ash. "How exactly would _you_ know such a thing?"

"Back when they were dueling, I saw Jounochi about to kill a bleeding Seto and…"

"And that's why you told Jounochi not to attack?" asks Rebecca. "I thought you were just crazy."

"And when Seto was about to pull the Scepter...I saw him chasing a young boy who held the scepter in his hands…" Ash closes his eyes as he tries to recall the memory. "The boy looked like a younger Seto which doesn't make any sense at all."

"Why did the boy have the Scepter in the first place?" asks Varon. Ash shrugs his shoulders.

"I wish I knew," he answers. "And I wish I knew why I had those visions in the first place."

"Maybe you can figure that out with a duel," Haruka suggests. "How about it? You against me, and the winner gets to pull the Scepter out."

"I dunno if that's a good idea, Haruka," says Miruko. "I mean, he's never dueled before now, and you want him to duel for a scepter that no one, not even _Yugi_ , has ever pulled out?"

"Yep!"

Ash stares at Haruka, then at the Scepter, then finally his Duel Disk. Pikachu looks in confusion before Ash smiles at her.

"I accept your challenge," he says. "Come on, let's duel!"

"Before you can, you need a spiffy battle phrase," says Serena. "Take your time."

"Okay...I think I'll go with…"

"Time's up!" Serena suddenly declares. "We can't have you think it over or else this duel will _never_ begin."

And suddenly, inspiration strikes.

"That's it!" says Ash as he draws his cards. He then lifts his arm up and watches his Duel Disk activate. "Haruka, your time us up...my time is now!"

"Not bad," says Haruka with an approving nod of the head as she draws five cards. She then attaches the veil of her costume in front of her mouth. "But watch out...the wheels of Fate are turning even as we speak."

"Let's duel!"

 **(Haruka: 8000) - - - - - - - (Ash: 8000)**

"So…" says Haruka. "Since this is your first duel, I'll let you go first. You _do_ know what type of deck you're playing, right?"

"Uh…." Ash begins as he quickly remembers to draw a card. After staring at the cards in his hand, he answers, "...no?"

Everyone face faults.

"You mean to say you haven't even _looked_ at your deck to see what you got?!" Miruko exclaims.

"Wait!" says Ash, staring at a monster. "Okay, I think I'm using something called 'Destiny Heroes'."

"Interesting…" Haruka muses. "Now, do any your monsters have four stars or less?"

"Yeah, all of the monsters I have are at Level 4. Why do you ask?"

"You can only Normal Summon or Set a monster that's Level 4 or less. To summon a Level 5 or 6 monster, you need to tribute a monster. If you want to summon a Level 7 or 8 monster, that requires two monsters. However, you can only Normal Summon one monster at a time, unless you have cards that give you an additional summon. Got that?"

"Okay, I think I do," says Ash. "So now I'll start by summoning... Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude in Attack Mode!"

A figure emerges from a pillar of diamonds before shards spill out in all directions. It is a superhero dressed in blue with a green cape and a belt buckle in the shape of a 'D'. His white hair is spiked up, his eyes are covered by a crystal visor, and his body is surrounded by large chunks of diamonds (except, for some odd reason, his left leg). (1400 ATK)

"Okay," says Ash, reading over the text of his monster. "It says here that I can look at the top card of my deck and, if it's a Spell Card, I send it to the graveyard and then its effect activates on my next turn. So…"

Pikachu pulls out a card with a paw and both he and Ash show it to Haruka. Haruka smiles.

"Congratulations," she says. "That's Destiny Draw, a really good Spell Card. You can draw an additional two cards on your next turn."

"Cool!" says Ash, sending the card to the graveyard. "Okay, I also have some Trap Cards."

"Those are played face-down, then you can activate them once I start my turn," Haruka explains. "So, how many will you place?"

"I think...I will place one card face-down and...uh, can I attack?"

Haruka shakes her head as she sees a card materialize behind Diamond Dude. "Not until after I finish my turn. So, let's see…"

She draws a card, stares at it, then smirks. Ash blinks and looks at Masato.

"Max...Masato," he begins. "What type of deck does your sister use?"

"A Prophecy deck with Spellbook support," Masato answers. "And trust me, my sister is practically _invincible_ with this deck. Good luck."

Ash gulps as Haruka chooses a card.

"I'll start by playing Spellbook Star Hall," she announces.

A Spell Card appears, depicting a hallway decorated with white pillars and criss-crossing shadows while blue glowing crystals shine above.

"Now, whenever I play a 'Spellbook' card," Haruka explains. "My Star Hall gains a Spell Counter, and each Spell Counter gives my Spellcaster monsters an additional 100 Attack Points.

"So, let's give my Spell Card a boost. I play Spellbook Library of the Crescent!"

Another Spell Card appears, depicting an empty chamber with pillars glowing with blue lines and an image of a black circle with a crescent moon surrounded by blue wires of light. Meanwhile, Haruka takes three cards from her deck.

"Since I have no 'Spellbook' cards in my grave, I can take three from my deck and show them to you. The catch is that you choose the card that stays in my hand, and the rest get shuffled into my deck. I also can't play any other Spell Cards except 'Spellbook' ones on the turn I play this card, but that's a proper trade-off.

"So Ash, what will it be?"

Ash looks as three hologram projections of Haruka's drawn cards, trying to read their effects as the audience looks on.

"So," says Miruko. "What are the chances of him actually _defeating_ Haruka?"

"That depends on a lot of factors," says Mokuba. "But considering that this is his first time dueling...he's done the minute Haruka gets 5 Spellbooks in the graveyard."

"Or if she gets three in her hand," Serena notes. "At the very least, if he can somehow knock her down to half of her lifepoints, then he _might_ have a chance to be a powerful duelist."

Ash gulps as he stares at the three cards, not sure as to what the right move will be. Then, he just points to the card in the middle.

"That one, huh?" asks Haruka. "Okay, your call."

She places the other two cards (Hidden Spellbook and Spellbook Library of the Heliosphere) into her deck while the lone card (Spellbook of Secrets) is added to her hand.

Meanwhile, a star shines above Spellbook Star Hall. (SC: 0 -) 1)

"Now I'm summoning a monster," says Haruka. "The first of my Prophecy monsters, he who represents beginnings and unlimited possibilities, I summon...Fool of Prophecy in Attack Mode!"

Emerging onto the field is a teenage boy with short purple hair topped with a green and yellow hat lined in white. He wears a black shirt with two ribbons inscribed with runes, dark green pants attached with spring green belts, a long yellow coat lined with white and a white and green striped scarf wrapped around his neck. His weapon is a gold staff marked with a black fleur-de-lis and he chews on a twig in-between his teeth. (1600 -) 1700 ATK)

"This card is you, Ash Ketchum," Haruka explains. "You are off on a journey and who knows what you will encounter along the way? This will be quite interesting to see.

"And next, I'll refill my hand with my Spellbook of Knowledge."

A new Spellbook Spell Card appears, this one showing four different Prophecy monsters in a circle, raising their weapons into the air at a red book with white lines, clamped with silver rings and a blue orb in the center.

"This card lets me draw two cards from my deck if I send a Spellcaster or a 'Spellbook' Spell Card from my hand or field to the graveyard," says Haruka, showing Ash the Spellbook of Secrets card from her hand. "And I have just the card I need. Thanks."

 _Not good..._ Ash thinks as Haruka's hand goes from four, to two, to four again in a few seconds. _If she had that in her hand, I should have gone with that Trap Card instead!_

Meanwhile, Spellbook Star Hall has another Spell Counter, and Fool of Prophecy possesses 1800 Attack Points.

"All right then," says Haruka, pointing at Ash. "Fool of Prophecy, destroy Diamond Dude now!"

Fool of Prophecy smirks as he runs toward his target, bringing his staff back before Ash smiles.

"I activate my Trap Card, D - Shield!" Ash exclaims. "Now Diamond Dude goes into Defense Mode and can't be destroyed by your Fool because my Trap Card equips itself to my monster!"

A Trap Card, depicting Destiny Hero - Doom Lord surrounded by chunks of rock levitating around him, flips and a barrier protects Diamond Dude as he kneels in Defense. (1600 DEF) Fool of Prophecy frowns when his attack does nothing and marches his way back to Haruka.

"Not bad," says Varon. "But any beginner could pull that off."

"I'll set a card face-down and end my turn," says Haruka as a card appears behind Fool of Prophecy. "Your move."

Ash nods his head as he draws a card.

"My Destiny Draw activates," he says. "So now I get an additional two cards."

Pikachu draws two new cards for his partner as Ash looks at them.

"And now, Diamond Dude... let's try this again!"

Diamond Dude begins to glow as Ash flips the top card of his deck over. He groans when he finds that it's D - Chain.

"A Trap Card," says Haruka. "And a good one at that. Too bad, because now that card goes to the bottom of your deck."

"I still have a Normal Summon," says Ash, while Pikachu slips the card to the bottom of Ash's deck. "I summon Destiny Hero - Defender in Defense Mode!"

Emerging from the ground is a large golem made of dark stone with a single red eye glaring at Haruka. He crouches in defense. (2700 DEF)

"That...was a foolish move," says Raphael notes.

"And next," Ash continues. "Okay, I have a Spell Card with a symbol of a compass. That's a Field Spell, right?"

"Mm-hmm," Haruka answers.

"Okay then, I play the Field Spell Card...Dark City!"

As he slips the card into his Duel Disk, the scenery changes to a city at night, a crescent moon shining down between the two duelists and skyscrapers with lit windows surrounding everyone else. It feels like something out of a film noir.

"Reminds me of that movie with the same name," Amelda notes. " _Very_ dark movie."

"Now," says Ash. "Whenever a Destiny Hero fights one of your monsters but has less attack points than the target, they get an additional 1000 Attack Points during the Damage Step. So, I place Diamond Dude in Attack Mode…"

The Destiny Hero stands up. (1400 ATK)

"And now I attack Fool of Prophecy with Diamondback Punch!"

Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude rushes toward Haruka's Spellcaster, his arm covered in diamonds as his attack score rises to 2400.

"Not so fast," says Haruka. "I play Defense Draw!"

Fool of Prophecy blocks the punch with his staff before hurling the Destiny Hero back to Ash's side of the field. Meanwhile, Haruka draws another card.

"This card drops the attack strength of your monster to zero for this turn, while simultaneously letting me draw a card," Haruka explains. "So, you'll have to end your turn there."

Ash frowns and ends his turn.

"Right, I'm up," says Haruka drawing a card. "Oh, and Ash?"

"Yeah?" asks Ash.

"You should have read the effect on Destiny Hero - Defender, because he lets me draw an additional card during my Standby Phase.

"WHAT?!" Ash exclaims as he sees Haruka now with a hand of six cards.

"And time to give myself more Spellbook cards," says Haruka. "I summon Spellbook Magician of Prophecy in Defense Mode!"

Appearing next to the Fool is a boy in blue and white robes, a hat covering white hair (which is shown as a bang sticking out in the middle of his forehead) as a white and blue book hovers in front of him. His expression is that of one completely and utterly bored. (500/400 -) 700/400)

"My Magician is the first person the Fool meets on his journey," Haruka explains. "And he gives me the ability to take a 'Spellbook' card from my deck to my hand."

"How many of those cards do you have?" Ash exclaims. Haruka shrugs her shoulders.

"Depends on if you mean how many are in my deck or how many I have in total," she answers, taking a card to her hand. "And now, I activate the effect of my Fool of Prophecy."

"Does _he_ give you a card?"

"No, he sends a 'Spellbook' card from my deck to the graveyard. Like so."

Haruka takes a card from her deck then slips it into her graveyard, all while Masato counts on his fingers.

"Oh yeah," he says. "Ash is doomed when Haruka ends her turn."

"Now I'll use the card I got from my Magician," says Haruka. "I play Spellbook of Power!"

A new Spellbook appears, this one a red color with a fiery background. Then, a matching Spellbook appears in front of the Fool of Prophecy, who begins to read it in earnest.

"This card grants 1000 Attack Points to a Spellcaster until the end of my turn," Haruka explains. "And for every monster he destroys in battle, I get to take a 'Spellbook'' card to my hand from my deck.

"Plus, I get another Spell Counter for my Spellbook Star Hall. Cool, huh?"

"Fantastic…" Ash murmurs as Fool of Prophecy closes the book (which vanishes soon after) as a fiery aura surrounds him and his attack jumps to 2900. Meanwhile, Spellbook Magician of Prophecy has 800 Attack Points and Haruka's Spellbook Star Hall now has three Spell Counters.

"Now my Fool," says Haruka, pointing to Destiny Hero - Defender. "Attack with Foolish Flail!"

Fool of Prophecy smirks as he runs to the blocky Destiny Hero and whacks it with his weapon four times before the monster is destroyed and Haruka has taken _another_ Spellbook card (Spellbook Organization) to her hand.

"I'll end my turn with a face-down card," says Haruka. "And now, here is where the fun begins."

Fool of Prophecy spits the twig out of his mouth and raises his staff upright. A dark aura manifests around him, and the carefree look in his eyes turns into a glare.

"W... what's going on?" asks Ash, feeling a shiver fall down his spine. Even Pikachu can sense something wrong.

"My Fool's special ability," Haruka answers. "On the turn that I use his effect, and I have five different 'Spellbook' Spell Cards in my graveyard, I can tribute him to Special Summon a Level 5 or higher Dark Spellcaster from my deck onto the field.

"Say farewell to the Fool and let us welcome the 13th member of the Major Arcana... _Reaper of Prophecy_!"

The Fool of Prophecy becomes consumed by black and violet flames before he is replaced with an imposing figure dressed in a purple robe with a black hooded cloak lined with silver. A silver half-mask covers the left side of his face, and his weapon is a wicked scythe with a black blade. (2000 -) 2300 ATK)

"He...he's not that terrifying…" Ash stammers. The Reaper of Prophecy smirks.

"That's only because I haven't activated his effects," Haruka says. "You see, depending on the number of 'Spellbook'' Spell Cards in my graveyard, my Reaper can unleash up to _three_ different effects."

"Three?!" Ash yells.

"Yes, three," Haruka reiterates. "For example, with just three 'Spellbook'' cards, he gains 600 Attack Points. With four, I can take a 'Spellbook' Spell Card from my deck to my hand. And the last one…" she chuckles.

"I can Special Summon another Level 5 or higher Dark Spellcaster from my deck to the field! So, hail to my Emperor of Prophecy!"

Ash looks in fear as 1) Reaper of Prophecy has his attack raised to 2900, 2) Haruka takes another card to her hand (Spellbook of Life) and 3) the newest Prophecy monster appears, a figure dressed in a golden cloak with a black tunic with a violet skirt decorated with silver trim and grey And black ribbons inscribed with runes. He leans to the side against a slab of stone with an arrogant grin on his face and a golden fan in his right hand (2300 -) 2600 ATK)

"Yep, Ash is done for," says Rebecca.

"Thanks for the encouragement!" Ash shouts at the audience as he draws his card. "Okay, so I'm activating my Diamond Dude's effect once more!"

Pikachu flips over a third card, this one a Spell Card called Reinforcements of the Army.

"Not bad," says Haruka. "You can take a Level 4 Warrior from your deck to your hand. And, the best part is, every Destiny Hero that can be Normal Summoned is a Level 4 Warrior."

"Awesome!" says Ash. "And now, I choose to summon Destiny Hero - Dunker in Attack Mode!"

Emerging on the field is a Destiny Hero wearing a blue sleeveless top, green shorts and has dreadlocks for hair. (1200 ATK)

"And check this out," Ash continues, looking through his hand once more before choosing a card. "If I discard a Destiny Hero from my hand, you lose 500 lifepoints!"

Haruka says nothing as Ash sends a card to the graveyard. Then, Destiny Hero - Dunker dribbles a large orb of energy before making a toss at Haruka, where the orb bits her Duel Disk.

 **(Haruka: 7500) - - - - - - - (Ash: 8000)**

"Finally!" Miruko shouts. "Someone loses lifepoints!"

"That's not all," says Ash. "The Destiny Hero I discarded was Destiny Hero - Dynatag, and when I 'Banish' him…" Ash pauses. "How does that work?"

"Just take the card out of the graveyard and pocket it it," says Haruka. "I'm sure there's a pocket in that costume. Say...where did you get that costume anyhow?"

"Yugi's grandfather gave it to me," Ash answers as a card ejects from his graveyard. He notices a card holder strapped to his waist and pockets his card as he adds, "Don't know why, though."

"Hmmm…" Haruka looks at Dunker glowing with energy.

"Now, Dynatag increases the attack score of my Dunker by 1000 until the end of my turn," says Ash. "And since all of your monsters are stronger than him, then he gets an added bonus from Dark City!"

 _Smart!_ Haruka thinks as Destiny Hero - Dunker now has 2200 ATK. _Although, he left himself open for my Trap Card._

"All right," says Ash, pointing at Haruka's Spellbook Magician of Prophecy. "Diamond Dude, attack!"

Diamond Dude fires a cluster of diamonds that pierce through the defensive magician.

"And now, Dunker," Ash continues. "Attack Emperor of Prophecy with Destiny Slam Dunk!"

Destiny Hero - Dunker dribbles a new orb of energy before running to Emperor of Prophecy. (2200 -) 3200 ATK)

"Time for a curve ball," says Haruka. "I activate Attack Guidance Armor!"

A demonic Armor appears and flies toward Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude. Ash looks in alarm as Destiny Hero - Dunker turns around and charges after his fellow Warrior.

"No, stop!" Ash exclaims. "Your target is that Emperor!"

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu shouts, trying to get the charging Destiny Hero to listen.

"Sorry," says Haruka. "But Dunker is about to go after the one wearing the cursed armor. Don't worry; diamonds are unbreakable, after all.

"Unfortunately, since Diamond Dude has lower attack than Dunker, you lose your power boost from Dark City."

Destiny Hero - Dunker hurls the orb at his fellow Destiny Hero, but Diamond Dude still stands (although Ash has lost some lifepoints). Dunker shakes his head in confusion as the Attack Guidance Armor vanishes.

 **(Haruka: 7500) - - - - - - - (Ash: 7200)**

"I'm not done yet," says Ash. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

As two hologram cards appear behind Ash's Destiny Heroes, Haruka draws a card. She smiles at what she has drawn.

"I activate the effects of Reaper of Prophecy," she says. "So now he gains an _additional_ 600 Attack Points, I take a Spellbook card to my hand, and I'll Special Summon the tempter of man himself... Prophecy Destroyer!"

Reaper of Prophecy has 3500 ATK, Haruka adds a card to her hand (Spellbook of Eternity) and, with a rumbling from the earth, a demon appears, with grey skin, curved horns, monstrous wings and a red-hot sword. (2500 -) 2800 ATK)

"Oh and one more thing," says Haruka, flipping three of her cards over (Spellbook cards she has gathered from her Spellbook Magician and Reaper of Prophecy). Everyone else flinches.

"I feel _so_ sorry for the kid," Varon remarks.

"Why are you showing me your cards?" asks Ash. Pikachu cocks his head to the side, also confused.

"I have to do this if I want to summon my High Priestess of Prophecy from my hand," Haruka explains. "So get ready, because a storm is coming!"

A divine wind blows through the field as the newest Prophecy monster appears. Sitting on a slab of blue crystal, the High Priestess has hot pink hair topped with a white peaked hat with matching ribbons inscribed with runes. Her outfit is a sleeveless top with opera gloves, a half-cape, matching skirt and knee-length boots all colored white with silver trim and light green orbs. In her hands is a glowing green Spellbook (2500 -) 2800 ATK)

"S... she's not that scary," Ash stammers out.

"Oh really?" Haruka chuckles. "You haven't seen her effect; if I Banishes a 'Spellbook' Spell Card from my hand or graveyard, I can destroy one card. So, hate to say this, but Diamond Dude has overstayed his welcome."

As Haruka takes a card out of her graveyard and slips it into a silk pouch tied to her side by a silk belt, High Priestess of Prophecy stands up and fires a blast of white magic that penetrates through Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude and causes him (and D - Shield) to be sent to the graveyard. Ash gulps as he watches four Prophecy monsters glare at him.

"So then," Haruka's lip curls into a sinister grin. "Prophecy Destroyer, attack Destiny Hero - Dunker with Devil Sword Slash!"

The Devil of the Prophecy monsters strikes, sword wreathed in flames as he flies toward Ash. He panics before he remembers his face-down cards.

"I activate…D - Counter!" he shouts. "Now your Prophecy Destroyer is destroyed!"

As Prophecy Destroyer is blown back by Ash's card, Haruka calmly ejects three cards from her graveyard and slips them to the pouch.

"Not for long!" she says. "When he's sent to the graveyard, I can Banishes three 'Spellbook' cards from my graveyard for him to return. And the last thing you need to do is anger a demon."

Prophecy Destroyer rises as he glares at Destiny Hero - Dunker. (2500 -) 2800 ATK) Then, he flies toward his target and slices the warrior in half.

 **(Haruka: 7500) - - - - - - - (Ash: 5600)**

"Now," says Haruka. "Let's end this!"

Emperor, Reaper and High Priestess of Prophecy raise their hands into the air as they form three beams of magic that fuse into one large beam that they fire at Ash. Ash quickly ejects a card from his graveyard.

"I activate my other card, D - Fortune!" he shouts. "When you attack me directly, all I have to do is Banishes a Destiny Hero from my graveyard and end your Battle Phase!"

A Trap Card depicting Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude in front of a duelist (identified by his grey dress pants and shoes) absorbs the attacks as Pikachu unleashes a sigh.

"Damn right it's called Fortune," says Rebecca. "But he has no other monsters to defend himself now."

"I end my turn here," says Haruka. "Good luck."

 _Man._ Ash thinks to himself as he draws a card. _Masato wasn't kidding about his sister. I hope May never becomes a duelist; I probably would never survive_ _ **her**_ _cards._

 _Okay, so this Trap Card could work...but I have to hope that Haruka thinks she has the advantage or I'm done. Here goes…"_

"I summon Destiny Hero - Drilldark in Defense Mode!" Ash announces.

With a loud whirr, a dark blue and red skinned Destiny Hero emerges with his right hand a drill, the fingers of his left hand are miniature drills and drills protrude from his hips and knees. (1200 DEF)

"It says I can Special Summon another Destiny Hero from my hand with a lower attack than him," Ash explains. "But I don't have that.

"Instead, I use Monster Reborn to bring back Destiny Hero - Dunker!"

The dreadlock Destiny Hero emerges, also in Defense Mode. (1700 DEF)

"Huh?" asks Masato. "Why not use Defender?"

"Because I'll give Haruka an additional card, as if she needs one at this point," Ash answers, placing a card face-down. "Besides, is that what _all_ her strategies relies on? Gaining additional cards and hurling books in front of my face? That doesn't sound like a cool strategy when you compare them to how Serena and Rebecca used _their_ cards, or Masato and his Synchro monsters, or even Mokuba and those Burning Abyss fellows."

At this, Haruka frowns.

"Those Spellbook cards have been the firepower that has given me an advantage," she says. If one pays attention, they can hear that her voice is tense from behind her veil.

"You can't _always_ use textbook knowledge to fight," Ash continues, hastily looking back and forth. "I mean, I know a friend named Max (who looks exactly like you, Masato), who lost a battle because he focused on using what he learned in books instead of the battle itself. Is that how _you_ learned how to duel?"

Haruka balls her free hand into a fist as she glares at Ash.

"...I admit that you have a point. I did learn dueling theough reading, and yes the strategy I use isn't as 'interesting' as the strategies of my friends.

"But there's a difference between having a good deck and actually being _capable_ of using it." Haruka calmly draws a card when Ash signals the end of his turn. Then, she narrows her eyes as she adds, "And you know what? Just for that remark, I am gonna have fun _destroying you!_ "

Her Prophecy monsters prepare their attacks once more as Mokuba realizes something.

"Wait a minute," he says. "Haruka has all those Spellbook cards in her hand, right?"

"Yeah," answers Serena. "So?"

"So, why isn't she using her High Priestess of Prophecy's ability to destroy Ash's monsters? Unless…" Mokuba's eyes widen. "Ash was goading her to attack! And she fell for it…"

"Hook, line and sinker!" Ash finishes. "I activate my Trap Card, D - Fusion!"

The Trap Card flips over, revealing a black capital D with a blue and red spirit circling it. Then both Destiny Heroes get sucked into the card.

"What is he summoning now?!" asks Rebecca.

"A Destiny Hero Fusion," Ash answers. "By fusing two Destiny Hero monsters, I can summon the one and only _Destiny Hero - Dystopia_ in Attack Mode!"

Emerging from the Trap Card is a tall figure, taller than Prophecy Destroyer, with midnight blue skin and silver trim, yellow shoulder pads, knee pads, fingers and a mask marked with a red 'D' in the center. In his hands are two orbs of darkness. (2800 ATK)

"And don't even bother trying to battle or use your High Priestess to get rid of him," says Ash. "On the turn I use D - Fusion, Destiny Hero - Dystopia can't be destroyed in battle or card effect!

"Oh and one more thing. When Dystopia is Special Summoned, I can choose a Destiny Hero from my graveyard and inflict damage equal to that monster's attack score. I select Destiny Hero - Drilldark to inflict 1600 points of damage!"

Destiny Hero - Dystopia hurls his orb of darkness straight through Haruka's monsters and strikes her Duel Disk, but not before knocking her off her feet (she doesn't scream though).

"Nee-san!" Masato exclaims.

 **(Haruka: 5900) - - - - - - - (Ash: 5600)**

Haruka is speechless as she sits up. Rarely does she have someone trick her into losing her cool, but to have this done by someone dueling for _the first time_? Talk about an embarrassment.

She says nothing as she stands up, removes her veil, slips a card face-down and signals the end of her turn.

 _Don't know what he does next_. she thinks. _But it's best to be prepared._

"My move," says Ash, drawing his card. "And cool, I got Card of Sanctity so I can get a new hand of 6 cards!"

Cards rain from the sky as Ash draws five new cards. Haruka, who already has six cards in her hand, says nothing. The only look on her face is that of tranquility.

"And now," says Ash, looking at his hand. "Time to cut your monsters down to size! I equip Dystopia with Twin Flashing Swords - Tryce!"

An Equip Spell Card of two rapiers crossed on a strange stone pedestal emerges. Soon, a replica of the swords are in Dystopia's hands. (2800 -) 2300 ATK)

"Is he insane?" asks Rebecca. "Why would he make Dystopia _weaker_?"

"Maybe to take advantage of Dark City?" Miruko suggests.

Ash chuckles. "No, to do something _better_. You see, if the attack strength of Dystopia changes from his original attack score outside of the Damage Step (which is what happens when I use Dark City), I can destroy a card on the field.

"And the card I choose is...Reaper of Prophecy!"

Dark energy outlines the swords in Dystopia's hands before he slices the Reaper in half. Then, for a very odd reason, Dystopia goes back to 2800 ATK.

"And when I destroy a card, Dystopia's attack goes back to the way it was," Ash adds. "Now, it says that these swords let me attack twice."

"But even if you attack, two of my monsters have the same attack strength as Dystopia," Haruka notes.

"You're right. I should fix that with _these_!"

Ash plays two cards: Mystical Space Typhoon and Megamorph. The former destroys Haruka's Spellbook Star Hall, the latter equips to Destiny Hero - Dystopia (2800 -) 5600 ATK).

Meanwhile, the attack scores of Haruka's Prophecy monsters drop by 300 with both High Priestess and Prophecy Destroyer at 2500 and Emperor of Prophecy at 2300.

"When Spellbook Star Hall is destroyed while it has Spell Counters on it, I can Special Summon a Spellcaster from my deck whose level is equal or less than the number of Spell Counters it had," says Haruka. "Since it had 3, I'll Special Summon Hermit of Prophecy in Defense Mode!"

A wizard with a long white beard, and dressed in a purple robe and wizard hat, appears in Defense Mode. His outfit cois decorated in white trim and blue orbs, while he wields a gold ornate scepter topped with a strange mirror-like emblem. (700 DEF)

"He won't help you now," Ash smirks. "Destiny Hero - Dystopia...Attack her Destroyer and High Priestess!"

Dystopia leaps into the air, swords ready to slice both monsters in half. There is a collision as everything is covered in smoke.

"Is it even possible?" asks Serena. "That kid is actually gonna get a win over Haruka?"

"Not today!" cries a voice.

The smoke clears as Haruka now has two monsters on the field, but something is off about her lifepoints.

 **(Haruka: 3700) - - - - - - - (Ash: 5600)**

"Huh?!" Ash exclaims. "But...but…that should have worked!"

Haruka smiles as her face-down card is revealed: Nutrient Z.

"Of course!" says Mokuba. "Haruka gained 4000 lifepoints before Ash attacked which buffered the blow and kept her standing.

"Plus, now that Ash has more lifepoints, Destiny Hero - Dystopia has his attack cut in half thanks to Megamorph!"

"He does?!" Ash exclaims, seeing his Destiny Hero sport 1400 ATK.

Haruka chuckles and claps her hands. "Gotta hand it to you; that was a _very_ close call. Too bad it will have to end soon."

"I still have cards in my hand," says Ash, placing a card face-down. "Your move."

 _My Sakuretsu Armor should take care of her Emperor_. Ash thinks. _Her Hermit has no way of beating me._

If Haruka can read his mind, she will be laughing on the inside. Instead, she calmly draws a card.

"I play Spellbook Organization," she starts. "This allows me look at the top three cards of my deck, then rearrange them to my liking."

A Quick-play Spell Card appears, showing a red book surrounded by red rings of light with other books behind it. Haruka takes three cards from her deck, quickly shuffles them around, then slips them back in.

"And since that counts as a Spellbook card, my Hermit gains two levels and an additional 300 Attack Points."

The Hermit of Prophecy sighs as power washes over him. (LV 3 -) 5, 1200 -) 1500 ATK)

"So your Hermit is now at Level 5," says Ash. "Just like the Level of your Emperor."

"Yup." says Haruka. "So, do you know what that means?"

"Uh…" Ash answers before he turns to Pikachu. "Do you?"

Pikachu shakes his head in reply. Meanwhile, everyone else understands and stays quiet as Haruka chuckles.

"Here's a hint," says Haruka. "Remember when Serena summoned Ghostrick Alucard? She needed an Overlay Network where she used two monsters with the same level to summon him.'

"I remember," says Ash. Then, it quickly dawns on him what Haruka is about to do. "Wait, you're going to…"

"You _dare_ had the gall to insult my strategy. You asked for this. I unleash the Overlay Network to Xyz Summon... _Empress of Prophecy_!"

Both Hermit and Emperor leap into the sky before Dark City is covered in light. When it fades, a new figure appears, seated on a throne. She dresses in an elegant white and green robe trimmed with gold and decorated with orange orbs, her hair is silver with that falls to her shoulders and topped with a small white hat. In her left hand is a fancy scepter and leaning on the side of her throne is a large shield with orange orbs. Her eyes open, showing pools of gold. (2000 -) 1700 ATK)

"Ok…" says Ash. "She... she's not _that_ scary."

The Empress raises an eyebrow and chuckles. That same expression is mirrored on Haruka's face.

"First off," Haruka begins. "My Empress gains 300 Attack Points for every Xyz Materials attached to monsters I control, which includes herself.

"Second, should I choose to detach an Xyz Material from her, I can look at the top five cards of my deck and, if any of them are Spellbook cards, then I can destroy as many cards equal to the number I have drawn. Afterthat, I can rearrange the cards I drew to my liking and place them back onto my deck _. Now_ you see why I summoned Hermit of Prophecy? Or did you really believe that he had no way of 'helping me'?"

Ash and Pikachu share a look of horror as Haruka draws five cards. Then, she shows Spellbook of Judgement and Spellbook Library of the Heliosphere at the two.

"Sorry," she says. "But Dystopia has overstayed his welcome!"

As her attack score goes from 2600 to 2300, Empress of Prophecy waves her staff as two orbs of magic strike the Destiny Hero, causing Ash to shield himself from the explosion. Haruka then rearranges the cards before slipping them back onto the tip of her deck.

"Next," Haruka continues. "I play Spellbook of Eternity to bring back a Banished Spellbook back to my hand. And I choose Spellbook of Power."

A Spellbook card appears, depicting a white Spellbook with blue orbs. Meanwhile, Haruka searches through the silk pouch tied to her side for her Spellbook of Power before adding it to her hand.

"Even if you use it on your Empress, I'll still be standing," taunts Ash. But it is more to comfort himself into thinking he has a chance of winning...which he doesn't.

"Who said I was using it on _her_?" Haruka retorts. "I play Spellbook of Life to bring back my High Priestess of Prophecy by Banishing a Spellcaster from my graveyard and revealing my Spellbook of Power to you!"

A new Spellbook card (depicting Temperance of Prophecy observed by Divine Grave - Northwemko) appears as Haruka shows Ash her Spellbook of Power. Then, High Priestess rises from the ground, glaring at Ash. (2500 ATK)

"And what type of ability does Spellbook of Life have?" asks Ash.

"It increases the level of the Spellcaster Special Summoned by the level of the Spellcaster Banished," Haruka answers, playing Spellbook of Power. "Good for Xyz Summoning, you know."

A red Spellbook appears in the hands of High Priestess of Prophecy who quickly skims its contents before glowing with fiery energy. (2500 -) 3500 ATK)

"And one more thing," says Haruka.

She plays another card, Mystical Space Typhoon, that blows across the field and shatters Ash's face-down card.

"Since when did you have _that_ in your hand?" Ash exclaims.

"Funny you should ask that," says Haruka. "I just drew it this turn."

"So...that means…" Ash bows his head and so does Pikachu.

"Sorry about this," says Haruka, glancing at the Bound Scepter of Destiny. Ryou's words echo in her mind before she speaks. "But there will be a next time.

"Now my Empress and High Priestess...attack directly!"

High Priestess of Prophecy unleashes her beam of magic while Empress of Prophecy casts a spell with her scepter that fires a blast of lightning at Ash's Duel Disk, the boy screaming in pain as his lifepoints fall to zero.

 **(Haruka: 3700) - - - - - - - (Ash: 0)**

"Fate has decided," says Haruka, watching the holograms vanish. As she places the cards back into her Duel Disk, she approaches Ash. "Not bad, for a beginner."

"It was fun, though," says Ash, slowly standing up. Pikachu nuzzles his partner, to which Ash smiles back. He gathers his cards. "So...I guess this means you get a shot at pulling that scepter out, huh?"

"Actually…" Haruka hesitates as she looks at the statue again before she turns to Ash. "I'm going to let _you_ do it."

"What?!" Everyone else exclaims. Even Pikachu looks in confusion.

"But you know the tradition, Haruka!" says Masato. "Only the winner of the duel is allowed to pull the scepter out. Ash lost his duel-"

"But he showed heart and conviction, and that alone can make you the winner in the end," Haruka interrupts before looking at Ash once more. "Plus, if it wasn't for my Nutrient Z, he would have been the victor instead of me. So Ash...are you ready?"

Ash turns to the statue and nods. "Yeah, I wanna see where this goes."

"This definitely won't end well," Rebecca notes as she sees Ash approach the statue, his hands grasping onto the part of the staff closest to the glowing red gem. "Why would a staff choose a total rookie like him to be the chosen one anyway?"

"That's not something we should worry about," says Raphael. "Has anyone asked themselves what would happen _after_ that scepter was removed? Or what type of power that thing contains? If we put Mokuba's story into consideration, then either the scepter has a mind of its own or…"

"Or?" asks Miruko, slightly nervous.

"It might contain something we're powerless against."

Ash grins as he takes a deep breath. As he's about to start pulling the scepter out of the statue's hands, he hears a voice.

 _Are you…?_

But the voice never finishes the sentence as Ash is too excited to not waste this opportunity, even though countless of duelists have failed before him. Grasping the scepter tightly, he begins to pull. It takes a few seconds before everyone notices the scepter is slowly slipping out of the statue's hands.

"W...what?!" Varon exclaims. "He's actually doing it?"

"Haruka," Mokuba whispers. "Did you...did you know about this?"

"No." Haruka shakes her head. "I wasn't expecting this at all…"

With a cry of joy, Ash successfully pulls out the Bound Scepter of Destiny, holding it like it is a trophy to the shock of everyone who is seeing this. There is silence as Ash turns to Haruka and her friends, looking in confusion.

"I pulled the scepter out!" he says. "Shouldn't we all be celebrating or something?"

And then, the red crystal begins to glow and sparks of magic begin to emit from the tip.

Ash can only think of that time in Cameran Palace where he, dressed as Sir Aaron, was given Sir Aaron's scepter and how he unleashed Sir Aaron's Lucario from within just by posing like the legendary hero. Sure, Lucario was cold and stoic after believing that Sir Aaron betrayed him all this time, but he turned good in the end after understanding the truth.

But this...something feels wrong here.

It feels like the scepter is draining him of his energy, his body feels like it's on fire, but he can't let go of the scepter. It's like it's glued to his hand!

"What are you doing?!" Mokuba exclaims.

"I have no clue!" Ash answers, feeling the scepter move back and forth as if searching for something. Then, after Ash can plant both feet down and he points the scepter to the ground, a beam of energy shoots forth, coalescing into a human form.

"Um, on a scale of 1 to 10...how do we rate this on the weird-o-meter?" asks Serena.

Ash waits for the light to fade, seeing a familiar yet different person appearing in front of him.

"Seto Kaiba?" he whispers, staring at the staff, then at the person. "T...that can't be right."

The figure looks similar to Seto Kaiba, but there are many obvious differences between the two. For one, their skin tones are different as night and day-with this figure having tanned skin and brown hair a shade darker than the CEO of Kaiba Corp.-and is dressed in a blue priest outfit with a matching hat that would easily be seen in the times of Ancient Egypt. Gold accessories decorate both hat and tunic, but the most distinctive part of the get-up are the massive white dragon wings that emerge from his back-wings similar to those of a Blue Eyes White Dragon.

"An angel?!" Miruko gasps. "No...it's more like…"

The figure grunts as they slowly open their eyes-a shade of blue similar to Seto Kaiba's. But, to Ash (and for a reason he is unable to explain), he can see into them and note that something isn't right...especially when he sees them briefly flicker to a darker hue before returning to those clear blue ones.

"Stay back…" says Rebecca, preparing her sword. "We're warning you…"

"Give him some time," says Amelda, lowering Rebecca's sword hand. "Let's not jump to conclusions so quickly."

Ash gulps as Pikachu tenses up, electricity sparking in his cheeks. The Seto Kaiba look-a-like places a hand on his chest as he looks at Ash.

"Are you...the one who released me?" he asks. Ash looks at the Egyptian Kaiba, then at the staff, then slowly nods his head.

"I did." he answers, slightly bowing foward (which looks slightly awkward since the costume is weighing him down). "I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town. And you are?"

"Oh, I should introduce myself." The tall figure properly stands up as other people begin to notice the situation, talking to themselves or pulling out their cellphones to record what they are seeing. "I am Seth, High Priest of the White Dragons, cousin of Pharaoh Atem himself, and husband to Jouno, Divine Soldier of the Black Dragons. Tell me, can you direct me to where my Jouno might be?"

"Uh…" For some reason, Ash wants to be able to tell Seth that he's never heard of someone named "Jouno"...but a quick glance at the staff slightly flickering causes him to hesitate. That strange feeling he's sensed when he first saw Seth's eyes is paralyzing him with fear. He doesn't know if the others can see this, but he certainly hopes they do.

"Hmm…" Seth just smirks as he looks off into the distance. "No matter...I can sense him even if the mountains separate us." He laughs. "Fear not, my beloved...I'll be there very soon."

"W...wait!" Ash stammers out, reaching out to grab onto Seth's hand. "You shouldn't-"

Before he can finish his sentence, a blast of electricity knocks Ash back. When Pikachu prepared for a Thunderbolt attack, Seth stops that with a magical blast of energy that knocks the Mouse Pokemon into the air before falling into a crumpled heap on the ground. Seth soon teleports away through the use of his wings cocooning him and then shrinking into a small spark of light.

After a few tense seconds, Ash slowly gets up as Rebecca can only glare at Amelda.

"I still say we should've attacked him," she mutters. "What did he want?"

"He…" Ash groans as he stares at the staff. It gives out a few weak sparks as Ash closes his eyes and feels some powerful force overcome him. Then, he opens his eyes in alarm. "He...he's going to hurt someone. We have to stop him!"

"W..what?!" Mokuba exclaims. "What do you mean by that?"

"I can't explain," Ash staggers to his feet. Pikachu does the same. "But we need to find where Jounochi is before he ends up hurt or worse…"

There is silence as everyone absorbs his words. Raphael pulls out a cellphone from his satchel.

"We'll split into two teams," he says. "Rebecca, you're sticking with me and your brothers for now in order to find Yugi and see what he knows about that staff."

"But what about-" Rebecca stops when Raphael stares her down. In fact, she also sees similar stares in both Amelda and Varon-it is rare to find all _three_ of her older brothers in agreement like this, so the only thing she can do is nod her head. "All right then."

The siblings head off as Ash stares at the scepter stuck to his hand. He has tried to offer it to someone else but, just as it says, the thing is now bound to him.

"Mokuba," says Haruka. "You know your brother and his boyfriend well. What would Jounochi be at a time like this?"

"Having a snack, of course," says Mokuba, as if it is the most obvious thing in the world (which it kinda is).

"But you know how much Jounochi can eat, and there are plenty of places one could have a meal at this time. The question is _where_ would he and your brother be?"

Mokuba taps a finger to his forehead for a second or two before it hits him.

"We have to go _now_ ," he says.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0**

Where is Jounochi, you may ask?

He is currently having a crepe with Seto at the Thousand Pieces food truck, stuffed with strawberries and topped with whipped cream while the CEO ordered a Nutella and banana crepe topped with chocolate whipped cream for himself. Millefui, alongside her sister Kanata (dressed as Zoodiac Tigermortar and has just returned from passing out fliers for said food truck), sigh at the two men sharing a moment.

"Isn't that so romantic?" Kanata swoons. "I hope that Haruka-san and I can do that later today."

"Too bad Serena's not here to see this," Millefui notes, secretly taking photos of the lovebirds through her cellphone (smiling on the inside when she successfully has a snapshot of Seto poking Jounochi on the nose and leaving a bit of whipped cream like it is a kiss.) "Oh well, guess she'll have to…"

"Millefui, who's that?"

Millefui lowers her phone and looks to where her sister is pointing. "Are we talking about that guy who looks like Seto but from Ancient Egypt?"

"Yep."

"Then I have absolutely no idea!"

Both Jounochi and Seto seem to agree with Millefui, and soon, Seto stands up, not facing his doppelganger, but calmly asking him one question.

"How did you get out?"

Seth momentarily blinks, but the shock is replaced with a warm smile as he wraps an arm around his modern counterpart's waist and then reached out to Jounochi also. Millefui and Kanata gasp and Jounochi is ready to murder someone.

Millefui feels her cellphone vibrate and looks at it. "Serena just texted. She says that we have to prevent that priest from getting too close to Jounochi."

"I dunno…" says Kanata. "I mean, it _is_ kinda hot."

"And Haruka added that the priest might hurt someone if we don't stop it now."

"What are we waiting for?" asks Kanata, picking up a kitchen knife from a knife rack with her right hand (her left hand is currently covered with an oversized gauntlet). "We have to do something."

Meanwhile, Seto curls his hand into a fist, his left eye glowing white as he keeps his voice calm.

"What's wrong?" Seth asks in confusion. "Don't you recognize me?"

"That's the thing," Seto answers. "I do."

Materializing in his left hand is a sword made of light that he thrusts deep into Seth's abdomen, causing the priest to stagger back. Meanwhile, Jounochi has summoned his axe weapon from the shadows.

"What's going on?" asks Kanata, kitchen knife at hand. Her sister has a frying pan as a weapon that she brandishes like a shield. Jounochi turns to them.

"Trouble," he says. "And _lots_ of it."

Seth pulls the sword out of his stomach and snarls. His eyes glow with a powerful light that temporarily blinds the sisters as Jounochi prepares his axe.

"I dunno who you are or what you're planning," he begins. "Scratch that, I _do_ know who you are but…"

He ducks just as Seth unleashes a bolt of lightning that leaves a scorch mark at the side of the food truck. Millefui cringes.

"Mom is gonna get so mad when she sees that," she notes.

"What does he want?" asks Kanata.

"He wants me," Jounochi answers, watching Seto summon a variety of knives made of light with a wave of a hand. "Or not. It's kinda complicated."

"How so?" asks Kanata.

"Well, remember that thing with that Pyramid of Light…"

"It's related to _that_?" Millefui hisses as Seth shields himself from a storm of knives by covering himself with his wings. Then the priest unfurls those wings and tackles Seto not unlike a quarterback in a football game.

"How were you released?" Seto demands, forming a shield over his left arm that unleashes a blast of list that knocks the priest back. "Who pulled the Scepter out?"

"I think it was that kid who dueled Haruka!" says Kanata, reading a message on her sister's cellphone.

"What kid?" asks Seto, dodging another blast of lightning aimed for him at the last second.

"He dressed as a Breaker the Magical Warrior," Millefui answers, recalling the food contest hours ago. "What was his name again? Ashton...no, Ash! His name was Ash! He had the Pikachu on him too!"

"He…" Seto doesn't finish his sentence as he is blindsided by a whip made of light that lassoes him and hurls him toward the side of the food truck. Jounochi stands in front of the girls as Seth saunters towards his counterpart, a scowl on his face.

"I thought I got rid of you last time, boy," Seth snarls, hand wrapped around the neck of Seto Kaiba. "Looks like you didn't learn your lesson, did you?"

"Let him go this instant!" Jounochi shouts, eyes briefly glowing red. "He tried to free you for so long and this is how you treat-"

The last word never escapes his lips as Seth, not once loosening his vice-like grip on Seto's throat, unleashes a bolt of lightning from his hand that strikes Jounochi in the chest and knocks him on top of Millefui and Kanata, the girls struggling to push the older boy off of him (and for Kanata, to prevent stabbing him with his knife)

"Seth…" Seto gasps out. "Please...stop…"

Seth returns his hateful gaze toward Seto, but before he can answer,

"NO!"

Ash, with Pikachu close behind him, runs as fast as he can, despite being in his cosplay and, without even thinking how it happens or why it happens, hurls an orb of aura (one that he has not unleashed since the Tree of Life incident) straight at Seth, knocking the priest to his side. Behind him are his friends, who help Jounochi stand up.

"What's going on?" asks Millefui. "How did you know these guys would be here?"

"You know how much my brother loves your mother's homemade crepes," Mokuba answers, somewhat jokingly. He then watches as Ash, still with Pikachu on his shoulder, stands in front of Seto, looking quite haggard from running a far distance.

Seth slowly stands up, his eyes dark as he unleashes a feral roar at Ash. Ash, still with the scepter in his hand, just points it at his opponent.

"If you want some, _come get some_!" he exclaims.

"He is gonna kill himself!" Kanata exclaims. "Haruka, what do we…"

"Ash knows what he's doing," Haruka interrupt, but she tries to mask her doubt as she looks at the scene.

Seth lunges towards Ash as the Pokémon trainer calmly waits until the last moment to place his hand out in front of the possessed High Priest, glowing with the power of aura. Everything slows down as Ash's hand is placed over Seth's heart.

"Stop this now!"

And then, there are two screams as Ash feels his aura powers flow out of his body and into something that lays deep within the High Priest...a seal, perhaps? Ash has no clue at this point...but all he knows is that whatever it is, it is powerful and evil, and that the _real_ Seth has to be freed from its influence.

A bright light surrounds the two, but Ash refuses to step back, not until the last of the magic that is blocking Seth's heart is vanished, faded away and obsolete…

Until then, he will take the pain. He's done it many times before.

"ASH!" cry his best friends. Pikachu sees his partner in danger and begins to unleash a powerful Thunderbolt. He is only stopped when Ash turns to him and says,

"Don't do it yet, buddy! Trust me on this!"

Pikachu stops, not wanting to see Ash hurt but cannot refuse a command from him, and can only nods his head as Ash looks into Seth's eyes. They flicker from a blue tinged with darkness, to a shade of blue that signify light and goodness. Good; just a little more time.

"Ash, don't do this!" says Haruka, mentally berating herself for not seeing Ryou's warning sooner. "You'll kill yourself!"

"I'll be fine," says Ash, gritting his teeth. "Besides, I've handled worse than this. Almost there...hang on…"

Everyone looks in horror and awe as the aura around Ash begins to disappear. Seth lets out a gasp as he steps back, all before Ash turns to Pikachu.

"Do it now!" he says. "Give him a Thunderbolt and save him!"

"Pika….CHU!" Pikachu unleashes its Thunderbolt, directing it toward Seth as the High Priest can only let out a scream of agony before he collapses on the ground. Ash drops to his knees, panting for breath as Seto places a hand on his shoulder.

"W...what did you just do?" he whispers. Ash smiles weakly.

"He's been cooped up in that scepter…" He answers. "He's been possessed by a fragment of darkness for all this time, hating himself for what he caused...I released the dark force that corrupted him...he's free...now…"

Ash collapses to the side, all while everyone else can only shout his name. Seto places a hand on his forehead while Pikachu rushes toward his friend.

"He's burning up with a fever," he says. "We need to get him to a hospital and fast."

"Wait..." Ash mutters, turning to where Seth's unconscious body is at, his hand just inches away from the High Priest's own. "Take him too...he needs help…"

"This guy just tried to kill my older brother!" Mokuba exclaims, taking a step toward Ash. "And we're supposed to _help him_?"

"No, he's right," says Seto, slowly standing up. "We're getting them both."

"But Seto…"

"That's _final_ , Mokuba."

Mokuba hesitates, staring at what is an Ancient Egyptian version of his brother that is asleep and not out to kill anyone else, before sighing.

"You heard my brother," he tells his friends. "Let's help him up."

Serena and Haruka help Seth to stand on his feet, both of them nervous as to whether or not he'll awaken and go berserk again, but nothing happens. As Millefui and Kanata wish their friends good luck, Masato looks behind them.

"I sure hope Rebecca found help," he says. "Because who knows what type of nasty things are going to be appearing after that."

Jounochi carries Ash in his arms, even motioning Pikachu to climb onto his shoulder. The electric mouse complies, wanting to make sure to stay with Ash no matter what. Before Ash's eyes close, he takes one final look at Seth and smiles.

 _You're free..._ he thinks to himself. _Everything is going to be all right…_

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Hidden in the darkness, a figure starts to awaken.

It has been far too long since it has been considered while. A fragment of itself has been lodged within crystal prison in the hopes that one day, the boy who sealed him away, would eventually be exorcised and gone for good.

But five thousand years have passed, and things have changed.

It thinks that soon, very soon, the plan to unleash chaos upon the world will be enacted and a new world, one in it's very own image, will be construed.

Already it has chosen a vessel who shares in it's ideals, but the time to strike...is not ready.

The first thing, it thinks, is to send a message, a warning, that it has not forgotten what happened years ago. It remembers, it has all the time in the world to remember, and also all the time in the world to strategize to plan and to think of proper punishments for those who tried to strike at it.

As the saying goes, "Revenge is a dish best served

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **Serena: Okay,** _ **that**_ **was unexpected….**

 **Haruka: This is bad. This is all my fault!**

 **Kanata: Calm down, Haruka! I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all of this.**

 **Mokuba: Tell it to the High Priest who seems to be berating himself right about now.**

 **Millefui: Well, we can't sit around and do nothing. Next time, Ab Initio chapter 5 - "Cursed Body".**

 **Ash: Please...someone...this can't be right...**


End file.
